What Do I Do Now?
by rangerluvin
Summary: Completed! Stephanie's sister and husband are killed in a car crash leaving Stephanie to raise the girls on her own, or maybe not. Will Ranger step in to save the day? Please Read and Review. Chapters from 10 until end have been done by beta.
1. Chapter 1 The Phone Calls

**I do not own any of these characters. Janet Evanovich owns them all, but every once in a while Ranger sneaks way to come visit me. This is my second fanfic. I hope you enjoy. This will be several chapters, not sure how many yet though. Thanks for reading feel free to review. Good or bad I enjoy find out how I did. **

**What Do I Do Now?**

_**Chapter One "The Phone Calls"**_

Who would have guessed that a year ago, Stephanie Plum, aka The Bombshell Bounty Hunter, Beautiful, Cupcake, Babe, and Eliza Doolittle, would be the mother of two young children and getting married to the man of her dreams? And who would the man of her dreams be, you may ask? For years, she thought it was Joe Morelli, he's from the 'burg, Italian, voted best ass in Trenton (a fact he knew). That was until the day she walked into the diner and laid eyes on Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, The Wizard, Batman and Professor Higgins. She knew that day that her life would never be the same; she just didn't know how true that would be. Let's start at the beginning, and take you back to a year and a half ago. Hang on and enjoy the ride.

_Flashback_:

Stephanie knew when the phone rang at three in the morning; it wasn't Publisher's Clearing House telling her, she'd won a million dollars. Whoever was calling was 99% guaranteed to be bring baring very bad news, and she wasn't sure she could handle it at this point in her life.

"Yeah," Stephanie said droopily into the phone. She had her eyes clenched and her jaw set in preparation for the bad news that was undoubtedly forthcoming.

"Stephanie, its Carl Costanza. I'm afraid I have some bad news to tell you. I think you better sit down before I tell you."

"Oh God, Carl, you're scaring me what happened?" Stephanie asked with trepidation, she sat straight up in bed, her heart pounded away at maximum speed.

"Sweetie, Valerie, Albert and the kids were involved in a head on collision tonight. Steph, I hate to have to tell you this, but Valerie and Albert were killed instantly. Both girls are in critical condition in the hospital and Steph; they weren't able to save the baby Valerie was carrying. I'm so sorry."

"Oh. No! This can't be happening! Which hospital? Has anyone called my parents? How did it happen?" Steph was rattling off questions and struggling to catch her breath.

"Steph, calm down and take a deep breath. I already called your parents; they're on their way to the hospital. They were taken to St. Francis and apparently the man that hit them had been drinking and driving. He was also killed upon impact. The stupid bastard."

"Alright, I'm going to get ready and head to the hospital. Thanks, for calling me Carl." Stephanie stood next to the bed, her mind already racing over what she needed to do, before she could get down to the hospital. She was mentally forming her list when Carl's voice interrupted her.

"No problem, Sweetie. Do you need a ride? I know you lost another car yesterday."

Damn. She'd forgotten that little piece of information when she was doing her checklist. Stephanie responded distractedly to Carl, "Um…no…I'll get a ride, but thanks." Stephanie quickly hung up the phone, then picked it back up again and automatically pressed speed dial number one.

"Babe, what's the matter? You ok?" Ranger answered after the second ring, sounding alert and more than a touch concerned.

"Ranger, I…I….um…I need a ride to the hospital. Oh, God, this is such a nightmare. My sister was killed in a car accident tonight and her kids were taken to St. Francis. Ranger, could you come get me and take me to the hospital?"

"Oh, Babe, I'm so sorry. I'll be right there. Less than twenty," Ranger said and disconnected.

When Ranger entered the apartment seventeen minutes later, he found Stephanie curled up in a ball on the floor sobbing. He silently walked over to her and picked her up. He carried her over to her couch and sat down, cradling her to his massive chest. He held her, stroked her back and hair, and whispered soothing words to her in both English and Spanish. After about fifteen minutes, she finally calmed down, but still wouldn't raise her head from his shoulder.

"Babe, look at me." Ranger gently tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "I'm so sorry about your sister, Babe. What happened?"

"Carl called and said they were hit head-on by a drunk driver. Valerie, Albert and the driver of the other car were killed instantly. Val was pregnant and they weren't able to save the baby." Stephanie began crying again, her voice was muffled behind her hands as she tried valiantly to wipe the endless tears that were falling. "Both girls are alive, but critical. I need to get there to find out what's going on. My parents are on their way to the hospital. I'm sure my mother is hysterical to say the least."

"Ok, Babe, go wash your face and get dressed, I'll wait out here for you." Stephanie started to get up, but Ranger held her tight and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her lips before releasing her. "Whatever you need, I'll be here to help you, Steph."

"I know, Ranger that means a lot to me." She kissed him on the cheek and got off his lap and headed for her bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2 The Hospital

**I do not own any of these characters. Janet Evanovich owns them all, but every once in a while Ranger sneaks way to come visit me. This is my second fanfic. I hope you enjoy. This will be several chapters, not sure how many yet though. Thanks for reading feel free to review. Good or bad I enjoy finding out how I am doing. **

_**Chapter Two "The Hospital"**_

The turbo was barley stopped when Steph was out of the car and sprinting to the front entrance. Ranger had to break out at a run in order to catch up with her at the elevator. Once inside Steph made her way to the ICU waiting room to find her family. The first people she seen were her parents.

"Thank God you're finally here Stephanie." Helen Plum said as Steph threw herself in her mother's arms as they both started crying. Frank Plum came over and silently wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter as his own body shook with silent tears. For a long time the only sounds that were heard in the small waiting room were that of the family weeping over the loss of their family members. For Frank and Helen they were morning the loss of their oldest daughter and new grandchild, for Stephanie she was morning the loss of her only sister.

When everyone began to pull themselves back together and stepped away from each other, they took a seat in the waiting room. "Mom, Dad you remember Ranger." Steph said as the family finally noticed him standing by the door.

"Hello, Ranger. Please come have a seat." Helen plum said with her best "burg" manners.

"Mr. and Mrs. Plum I am sorry for the loss of your daughter and son-in-law. If you need anything please let me know."

"Thank you, Ranger, you being here for Stephanie is more than enough." Helen said, and Frank nodded his head in agreement.

"Mom, how are Mary Alice and Angie doing? Is there any word yet?" Stephanie was ready to find out about the rest of her family.

"Angie was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown through the windshield. She had a concussion, several broken ribs, a broken leg and broken collar bone. She also had a ruptured spleen; they took that out during surgery. She is still unconscious and in critical condition. They took her to ICU about an hour ago. Mary Alice was wearing a seat belt so she was not injured near as badly. She hit her head on the side window and has a concussion, and her right arm was broken, and she has 3 broken and two cracked ribs, her left foot was also fractured. She is still unconscious, but she was upgraded from critical to stable. They did put her in ICU with her sister until she wakes up. The Doctor is supposed to come get us when it is ok to visit." Helen said all this without taking a breath

An hour later there was still no word. Helen was pacing, Frank was watching a hockey game, and Stephanie and Ranger were sitting silently on the couch, she had her head on his shoulder and they were holding hands. Ranger was the first one to speak.

"Babe, I need to go make a phone call, do you need anything?"

"No thanks Ranger, I would just like to know what's taking so long."

"I'll check at the nurses' station and see if I can find out anything for you Babe." Ranger gently brought her fingers to his lips and placed a kiss to each one before releasing her hand and getting up from the couch.

When Ranger left, Stephanie's mom came over and sat next to her. "He seems like a nice young man, I see why you enjoy working with him so much."

"He is a nice man mom, and I trust him. That's why I like to work with him. He never lets me down, and does anything he can to help me."

"I'm glad you have someone you can count on dear." Helen said and patted Stephs hand.

"Mom where is grandma? I figured she would be here."

"She went to Atlantic City with a friend of hers. Your father called her and told her what happened; she will be here in the morning."

About fifteen minutes later Ranger came back in and reclaimed his seat next to Stephanie. "Babe, the nurse said the doctor should be out to take you all back anytime now." As soon as the words were out of his mouth the doctor appeared in the doorway.

"I'm looking for a Mr. or Mrs. Plum." The doctor said and both of them stood up at the same time.

"We have both girls stable; they will be allowed visitors every two hours for 10 minutes at a time. So if all of you would like to follow me I will show you to their room."

"You go ahead Babe, I'll wait out here."

"Are you sure? You're more than welcome to come back with me."

"I'm sure Steph. Take all the time you need." He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

That's all for this chapter. What do you think is it still ok? Do I need to change anything? Thanks for reviews so far. Chapter three should be up in a day or so.


	3. Chapter 3 The Talk

**I do not own any of these characters. Janet Evanovich has that privilege. I would be all too happy to take Ranger out for a test drive. No characters were harmed in the making of this fanfic. Have a good day and on with the story.**

_**Chapter Three "The Talk"**_

Stephanie and her parents walked into the girls' room, Mrs. Plum walked over to Angie and picked her hand up. Mr. Plum did the same with Mary Alice. Stephanie took one look at the girls lying motionless on their hospital beds and fought for her next breath. She felt as though the walls were closing in and she had to get out of there. As fast as she could Steph turned and ran back out of the room and down the hall. She never even noticed that she had ran right past Ranger, only knowing that she was going to be sick. Running into the ladies room, she barely made it before she lost all the contents of her stomach.

She felt a warm hand on the back of her neck and a damp paper towel being placed on her forehead. "Breath, Babe." Ranger quietly told her as her body wracked with tears. When she had calmed a little Ranger helped her up, and they walked back down to the waiting room.

"Ranger, what am I going to do, how can I go in there and face those little girls. They lost their mother tonight. I can't stand to see them laying there in those beds and not being able to help them." Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she quickly closed them, but not before Ranger seen them and gently wiped them away as they made their way down her cheeks.

Ranger knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his. "Babe, there is no easy answers for you. You are a strong woman that has been through an awful lot tonight. When those little girls wake up, you will do what you always do. You will be there to talk to them, to love them, and to help them out in any way that you can, because that is who you are. Of course it's hard seeing them laying there. No one likes to see the people they love suffering, but you are brave, and strong and you can get through this, and I already told you Babe that anything you need I will help you with. If you need me to be with you when you go back in their room, then I will."

"I don't know what I would do without you. How is it that you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better."

"All I was doing was telling you the truth Babe." Ranger stood up and helped her to her feet. "Are you ready to go back in there yet?"

Putting her hands around his waist and leaning in for a hug. "Yeah I think I am, thanks to you." She looked up at him and smiled, then kissed him on the jaw and took his hand as they walked back toward the girls' room.

When they arrived in the room Mr. and Mrs. Plum were just walking out. "Stephanie I was just going to come and find you. Are you alright dear?"

"Yeah, I am now thanks to Ranger. I had a slight breakdown, but I'm fine now really."

"Well dear, your father and I are going back to the waiting room. After your visit could you please come back to the waiting room, me and your father need to speak to you."

"Sure mom." Steph answered as she made her way farther into the room.

Stephanie walked into the middle of the room, right between the girl's beds, and took both of their hands in hers. Ranger silently stood behind her with his hand on her neck.

"Hey girls it's your aunt Steph. You both need to get better so you both can come home. Next week summer starts. And you Mary Alice start your riding lessons." Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she was struggling to breath.

Ranger turned her in his arms and held her, never saying a word. Finally she calmed down again, and stepped back from his embrace. "I'm ok."

"I know that Babe."

"You girls get some rest. I will be back in a little while to check on you again." Steph leaned down and placed a kiss on both girls' foreheads, and then silently left the room.

They found the Plums setting in the waiting room drinking coffee and watching the news. "Well mom what did you need to speak to me about?" Steph asked as she took a seat across from both of them.

"We need to go to the funeral home and set up the day and time for the visitation and service. Valarie and Albert already had everything else bought and paid for. We thought it would be best to have a double service since Albert didn't have any family. What do you think dear?"

"I am going to leave that up to you guys' mom. I have never been good at dealing with this sort of thing. The closest I come to planning a funeral was for my gold fish when I was ten."

"Alright dear, we will set everything up, and then I will call you with the details. I think you need to make a few calls yourself. Nobody other than us knows about Valarie, I'm sure you will want to call your friends."

"I'm going to wait until I know the times of the funeral and then I will make the calls."

"Well it's almost seven now, me and your father are going to go get cleaned up and have some breakfast and then head over to the funeral home. You should really go home and get some more sleep. You look like you could use it."

"I am going to stay here with the girls' mom, I don't want them to wake up and be by themselves."

"Don't worry Mrs. Plum, I will see to it, that she rest and gets something to eat." Ranger said looking pointedly at Steph.

The rest of the day went pretty much the same way. Every two hour Steph and Ranger would go in and check on the girls and then go back to waiting. Just after five in the afternoon her cell phone rang, seeing it was her mother she quickly walked outside and answered it. Once she had all the information she made her way back inside to tell Ranger.

"That was my mom. Service has been set for Friday. They wanted to wait a few days for the girls to wake up, and hopefully they could attend. Mom also said her and daddy are coming back out and are going to stay tonight so we could go home and get some rest. I'm sure you need to get back to Haywood."

"Babe, I called Tank and told him he is in charge until further notice. You are my number one priority right now, and unless one of the guys get hurt Tank can handle things. Lester was appointed second in command last week, so Tank has plenty of help."

"Wow, I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. No price, remember."

"Yeah I remember, but I still feel like you waste to much time helping me out and not enough time at your company."

"Stephanie when I do anything for you it is not a waste of my time. I do things for you because I want to, I like to help you out. I hate it that you are having a rough time right now, but I would rather be with you then anywhere else in the whole world."

"Thanks Batman. That means a lot to me."

"No problem Babe, do you want to go to Pino's and grab something to eat? Then we can head back to Haywood and get some sleep."

"Sure I could eat Pizza, but I can go back to my apartment. I don't want to put you out"

"Steph, you would not be putting me out. I know you have a lot on your mind right now and you might need someone to talk to. And I would feel better if you were with me, then by yourself. I will sleep on the couch, but I will not take no for an answer alright."

"Alright Batman I'm too tired to argue, but you don't need to sleep on the couch. It is your apartment after all. Now let's go get that pizza, I'm starved."

"Babe"

**Another chapter bites the dust. What do you think should Joe make an appearance at Pinos? Let me know if you like it or not. I appreciate all reviews. **


	4. Chapter 4 Pinos and Haywood

**I do not own any of these Characters. Janet Evanovich unfortunately does. I'm hoping maybe since Christmas is coming maybe she might wrap Ranger up for me. I wouldn't mind removing the bow! Anyway thanks for great reviews hope I can keep making it better.**

_**Chapter Four "Pinos and Haywood"**_

By the time Stephanie's parents arrived back at the hospital and she went in one last time to visit the girls before she left for the night it was after six o'clock.

"Ranger, could we swing by my apartment so I could pick up some clothes for in the morning, and feed Rex."

"Sure Babe, no problem. We can head over there on the way to Pinos." Ranger tenderly kissed her on the lips before helping her in the car.

Once they were at Stephs house she went to get a duffle bag ready and Ranger stayed out in the living room to call Tank and check on things at Haywood.

"Report" Ranger replied when Tank answered the phone.

"No problems Boss. Lester and Ram are out on Stark Street looking for Clarence Simpson. He was Stephs FTA, but time runs out tonight at midnight. So they wanted to help her out and bring him in."

"Alright, I'm sure she'll appreciate that. Call if you need anything" before disconnecting.

"Everything okay Ranger?" Steph asked as she walked back into the living room.

"Yeah Babe, Tank said Lester and Ram are looking for Simpson for you."

"Okay. Why are they doing that he was a pretty low bond."

"Time runs out at midnight and the guys wanted to do something to help you out."

"Tell the guys that I said thanks." Steph smiled and went to feed Rex.

When Steph walked back into the living room Ranger was standing by the door holding her duffle bag. "You ready to go, Babe?"

"Yeah, I think so." As she turned to lock the door Ranger went to grab the elevator for them.

Ten minutes later they were walking into Pinos. "Ranger would you go grab a booth, I need to run to the ladies room."

"Sure Babe, I'll be in the back."

On her way back to the table Stephanie run into the one person she was hoping she wouldn't have to deal with right now. Joe Morelli and he was looking none too happy to see her either.

"Cupcake, why haven't you returned any of my calls? I called you yesterday and told you I was back in town." Joe was currently her off again boyfriend, and she had decided to make it permanent. She just hadn't gotten around to telling him that yet.

"Sorry, but I have been busy and have had a really bad couple of days and if you have forgotten we broke up, so I didn't feel it was necessary to drop everything just so I could call you."

"What the hell cupcake, Bob misses you. Lose the attitude and come have pizza at my place. We can hang out and watch the game."

"No thanks Joe. I'm having pizza here."

"Well maybe I can join you then."

"Look Joe, I am not in the mood. Just go home and share your pizza with Bob."

"Cupcake, why are you being so stubborn, I know you missed me."

"Stubborn? Look Joe if you must know my sister was killed tonight in a car wreck along with her husband and unborn child; her two daughters are in the hospital. I am just having dinner and then going to get some sleep and then head back to the hospital. To answer your other question I am not alone. Ranger brought me here, because I am without wheels. And before you asked he is taking me home not you." Steph said as she walked past him and headed to Ranger.

"Steph stop. I'm really sorry about your sister. I had no idea. When is the funeral?"

"Friday morning at 10am is visitation for both her and Albert. Then they will have a grave side service at 3."

"Do you need a lift?" he asked still trying to get a chance to be with her alone.

"No thanks, I already have a ride." She didn't, but was sure Ranger would take her. If she got to go herself. There was no way was she leaving her nieces alone.

"Would you mind if I volunteered to be a pawl barer?"

"I don't care, but my parents are the ones handling the arrangements so you will need to speak to them." By then she had tears welling up in her eyes again and she was ready to end this conversation.

Ranger must be using his ESP again. "You Okay, Babe?" he asked as he walked up behind her and placed his hand on her neck. "I already ordered for us, it should be there anytime."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I need to go sit down and get off my feet. I am starting to feel light headed. Joe I'll see you on Friday." And with that she turned and walked away.

"Yeah cupcake, see ya." But she was already walking away.

"Babe, are you alright? We can take our order to go if you want." Ranger wasn't sure what was said between her and Joe but he didn't like to see her upset.

"If you don't mind, I would like that. I am starting to get a head ache. Lack of sleep is catching up with me."

"Sure Babe, I don't mind. Take my keys and go on out to the Turbo. I'll meet you there in a minute."

Twenty minutes later they were sitting on the couch in Rangers living room, Stephanie had a plate of pizza on her lap and a bottle of beer in the other. "Ranger do you have any Tylenol?"

"Sure Babe, coming up. Do you want a bottle of water to go with it?"

"Yeah, thanks." She smiled at him then went back to scarfing down her pizza.

"Do you want to watch a movie Babe?" Ranger asked after they were finished eating.

"No thanks, I like the piece and quite here. You can't get that in my apartment building. Someone is always slamming a door, or running on the stairs, or opening and closing the elevator. I swear sometimes I want to hang a sign out front that says "Welcome to Grand Central Station." Steph was babbling and Ranger knew it was her way of denial.

"Stand up for a minute, Babe." When she did he set down on the couch with his back to the armrest and then draped one leg across the back and pulled her down to set between his legs. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her hands.

"This is nice." Steph sighed a little while later."I wish life was always this simple and carefree."

"I know Babe, I wish that too sometimes. It's nice to just sit here and hold you in my arms."

When he awoke from a deep sleep a couple of hours later, the first thing he noticed was that he was still on the couch, but Stephanie was missing. He was getting ready to call the control room to find out where she was, when he heard a noise from the kitchen. What he found when he walked in their broke his heart? Stephanie was setting on the floor with her back to the bar, head in her hands, resting on her knees, and crying.

"Babe," Ranger quietly said so he wouldn't scare her. When she didn't reply he walked over an crouched down in front of her. He took his finger and gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"Steph, look at me. Tell me what you need." Ranger spoke almost in a whisper.

"She's gone, my sister is gone. I'll never get to see her again, or yell at her again, go shopping with her, nothing, she's just gone. I never even got to say goodbye." A fresh set of tears made their way down her face.

"The last time I talked to her was a week ago, she had gotten into a fight with Albert and wanted to come stay with me. I told her I had a distraction job to do and wasn't going to be home. She said I always put my work before family and hung up. I tried to call her back several times to apologize but she wouldn't take my calls. Now she'll never know how much I loved her or that I was sorry." By this time she was almost hyperventilating.

"Steph, Breath. Take slow breaths Babe. Easy, just breathe." Ranger kept repeating until she was somewhat calmed down. "First off Steph your sister knew that you loved her, and second I have never known you to put anything before your family. You have no reason to feel bad, what happened was a terrible accident, an accident that was in no way your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for babe, you needed to work to bring in a paycheck, and she understood that."

"What do I do now? I lost my only sister, I miss her. I want to be able to call her, hug her, and even yell at her. Now I can't." the tears started falling from her eyes again.

"Shhhh. Its ok, Babe It'll be ok. It just takes time. Just don't blame yourself, okay. Take it one day at a time." He placed a kiss in her curls and pulled her into his lap. He held her and whispered to her in Spanish, trying to calm her down. When she was quiet he looked down and noticed that she had fallen asleep. Picking her up he carried her to his room, placed her under the covers, pulled her into his arms and held her.


	5. Chapter 5 Mary Alice and Angie Wake Up

**I do not own these characters. Janet Evanovich does. I may add a doctor in the mix; he or she will be mine. This chapter was a little bit difficult to write. I recently lost both my parents a month and day apart. And I am still having difficulty with things myself, to have to explain it to a child was a little rough. Hope I do it justice. Please let me know what you think. I have had a lot of positive feedback. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. On with the show….**

_**Chapter Five "Mary Alice and Angie Wake Up"**_

It seemed like I had just fallen asleep when I was woke up by the ringing of my cell phone. The ringtone gave the caller away as my mother so I was on instant alert.

"Mom, what's wrong? Are the girls alright?" I asked slightly panicked to think something had happened to one of them while I was gone.

"I just wanted to call and let you know that the girls are finally awake. Mary Alice woke up about an hour ago, and while Dr. Bentley was checking her over, Angie woke up. So far the doctor has been back there talking to them and doing some test so I haven't got to see them yet."

"That's great news mom. I'll get ready and be there as soon as I can. Call me if something changes." Ranger was now awake and had his head lying on my shoulder on the bed.

"I told the doctor not to say anything to the girls about Valarie; I wasn't sure how you thought we should handle this."

"Mom, I think it would be best if I talked to them. I feel like I owe it to Valarie. Is that ok with you?"

"Of course it is dear. Whatever you feel is best. After I check in on the girls, your father and I need to go to the house and pick up Grandma. She arrived about the same time the girls woke up."

"Alright mom, I'll be there shortly."

"Ok, are you bringing Ranger with you today?"

"I don't know yet mother, I haven't asked him. I'll talk to you in a few mom, bye" quickly disconnecting before she could ask any more questions.

"What haven't you ask me yet, Babe?" Ranger asked as soon as I was off the phone. Guess ESP doesn't work with phone calls.

"She wanted to know if you would be coming to the hospital today."

"Of course I am, unless you don't want me too." He looked slightly unsure, which was a strange look for him.

"Yes of course I do. I may need your big shoulders later, or maybe your warm arms, or chest."

"Oh really." His wolf grin was a full 2000 watts this morning.

"Yes really, I may need a hug or something after telling my nieces about her mother and step father"

"My body is yours any time Babe. You know that."

"Thanks Batman." Leaning up and giving him a quick peck on the lips. He wasn't having it and quickly deepened it to his liking. Then when they were both breathless he pulled back. "That was a good morning kiss." "Go ahead and grab a shower Babe, and I'll call Ella and get us breakfast."

Thirty minutes later Stephanie was setting at the breakfast bar, with a bagel, cream cheese, a bowl of strawberries, and a cup of coffee while waiting for Ranger to finish his shower.

Ten minutes later he appeared in the doorway, and she had to check for drool. He was wearing a blue polo shirt, and a pair of black dress pants. His hair was resting on his shoulders and he had in his diamond studs.

"Looking to get lucky with the nurses Batman?" Steph teased as she walked up to him.

"No Babe, you're the only woman for me." And to prove it he gave her a toe-curling kiss and slapped her butt.

Not knowing what to say to that remark she just turned and grabbed her purse and walked to the door.

Ten minutes after they arrived at the hospital the doctor came in the waiting room to talk with them. She was a very pretty lady, tall, skinny, long blond hair, green eyes, and dark complexion. She was wearing a red blouse with several button opened to reveal a lot of cleavage, and a short black mini-skirt, high heels, and a white lab coat. Stephanie immediately wondered if that was the kind of woman Ranger was attracted to. When she glanced at him, she noticed he was looking at her and no the doctor.

"Babe, she has nothing on you. You are beautiful both on the inside and out." He told her as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, and then placed a kiss there before he backed away.

"Are you the family of Mary Alice and Angie?" the doctor asked when she was standing in front of us.

We all stood up and nodded our heads. "Well first, my name is Dr. Bentley and I was assigned both girls as patients. Mary Alice seems to be doing very well, she was complaining of a headache, but that is common with a concussion. As you are aware she has three broken ribs on her left side and also two cracked ones on the right. They are causing her a lot of pain when she moves or tries to take a deep breath. We have them wrapped, but that is really the only thing we can do. Her arm is in a cast and will remain so for about six weeks. We also put her foot in a cast, but when she leaves that can be replaced with a walking cast so she will be able to get around without crutches. I have her on morphine; with the pain in her ribs she needs to lay still and sleeping will help heal her. After you see them we are moving her to a private room on five."

Angie is still critical and will need to be in ICU at least another day. She is also suffering from a headache due to a concussion, and her pupils are still not dilating when a light in shined in her eyes. She has pain in her chest as well from her broken ribs. We wrapped them and have her on morphine. Her collar bone seems to be healing and was not causing her any pain. Her leg was set and she has a cast from her foot all the way to her thigh so she will need a wheel chair to get around in until her collar bone is healed. She is running a low grade fever and that is why we want to keep her in ICU, she had her spleen removed and the fever could be an indication of an infection. Once her fever is down and we see no signs of infection she can be moved into a room with her sister. I was told that you will be telling them about her mother and would like to take them to the funeral Friday."

"Yes that's correct." Steph was the one who answered.

"That's fine that they are told today about their mother, as for the funeral that is two days away. If Angie is out of ICU by then I see no reason why they can't attend. They will have to come back here once it is over. I anticipate they be here at least a week."

"Thank you Dr. Bentley, may we go see them now?" again from Steph.

"Yes, you may all go in this time, but after that only two at a time in ICU for 10 minutes. There is no time limit up on five." With that she turned and walked away.

"Mom, dad when we go in there I would like to tell the girls and I would like to have a few minutes alone with them to do so. They might have a better time without all of us crowed in there. Will that be alright with you?"

"Sure sweetie, we'll go in and say hi and then go pick up grandma and bring her for a visit."

"Babe, do you want me to help you?"

"Thanks Batman but I better do this one on my own."

"Sure Babe I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

After her parents went in to visit and left it was Stephs turn.

"Hey girls, how are you feeling today?" Walking over to them and placing a kiss on each of their cheeks.

"Ok I guess, but my head hurts." this from Angie.

"My head hurts to and so does my chest. Aunt Steph the doctor told us that you would be telling us about mommy. Where is she? Why didn't she come see us yet? Was she hurt to? Where's Albert? Did mommy have her baby? She was rattling questions off so fast, Steph couldn't keep up.

"Slow down Mary Alice, one question at a time. I need you both to listen to what I have to say ok. I promise to answer all your questions." She waited until they nodded then she continued.

"Ok, do you both remember being in an accident?" again nods. "Well the man that hit you had been drinking and he hit the front of your van really hard. He was driving too fast and couldn't stop. When he hit the van your mommy and Albert got hurt to bad and both of them died. It was too hard of a hit. Do you both understand what I'm telling you?" By now all three had tears running down their faces. She first gathered Angie in her arms and held her, then when she calmed down a little Steph went to Mary Alice and held her in her arms. She stayed in their room for over an hour just holding them and telling them it was ok to cry, and that she was there for them, and that she loved them. When they had calmed down, she had the nurse come in and give them some morphine for the pain, and stayed with them till they both fell asleep.

When Steph made her way back to the waiting room Ranger was there waiting for her. He noticed that her eyes were red, and almost swollen shut, and he knew that she had been crying for a long time. He stood up and pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you ok, Babe?"

"I will be, it was so hard telling them about their mother, and both of them were so upset I couldn't leave them. I waited till they both fell asleep. I have a feeling they will be asking a lot more questions, and I don't know if I have the answers."

"When the time comes Babe, you will know the right things to say to them. You'll help them through this, and I'll be here to help you through it. Together we will get everything worked out. Why don't you go wash your face and then I'll take you to get something to eat. Does that sound good?"

"Only if it's something good, and not cardboard." She smiled for the first time.

"Anything you want Babe."

"How about the diner where we met? I haven't been there in a long time and I could go for a burger."

"Sounds good, Babe. I'll meet you by the elevators."

After Stephanie had finished off a double cheeseburger, an order of cheese fries and a large coke, and Ranger had finished his chef salad and water (Huck) they were sitting side by side in the exact same booth they were sitting in the first time they met holding hands. "Can you believe we have known each other for five years already?"

"Hard to believe, this was the first place I called you Babe."

"Yeah it is. Out of all the nick names I have that one is my favorite." She smiled up at him.

"We had a lot of first in this place. But there was one thing we have never shared here."

"Oh yeah, what's that? She asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"This." And he leaned in and tenderly kissed her lips. He pulled back and looked in her eyes, and then almost reverently he kissed her again. When he pulled back she was going to asked him what was up with all of the kissing lately, but before she could she was interrupted by her phone ringing. Glancing at the display she immediately got up from the table and walked outside to answer it.

A few minutes later she walked back to her booth. "Is everything alright Babe? You left in a big hurry." He asked as she set back down next to him and he immediately took her hand back in his.

"Yeah, that was Dickies secretary from his law firm. Seems Valarie and Albert had filed there will with him and he needs me and my parents there in order to go over it with us. I need to be there at tem in the morning. I have no idea why he would need me, but she wouldn't say."

"Well we better get out of here and back to the hospital. I'm sure your grandma is there by now."

"Yeah, I'm ready Batman, lead the way."

"Babe."


	6. Chapter 6 Meeting with Dickie

**As usual I do not own them, wish I did. Especially one man in particular. One can dream and I certainly do. Thanks for all the great reviews so far. It makes me feel loved. Have a great day and happy reading…..**

_**Chapter Six "Meeting with Dickie"**_

Ranger and Steph walked into the hospital, but it felt more like a three ring circus. There was her grandma in a tube top and jeans and a bandana wrapped around her head and singing to the security guys in the main lobby. They were looking at her like she had flipped her lid, which according to Frank she had.

"Mom, what in the world is grandma doing? Why are you down here instead upstairs?"

"When grandma got home she was so upset about Valarie and Albert that she drank a whole bottle of wine out of the fridge, and then insisted we bring her here. We were hoping she would pass out in the car." Helen explained while watching Edna trying to dance with one of the men.

"Your father is waiting for her to wind down and then he is going to take her home. While she is preoccupied we can go on up to the ICU."

"Babe, your grandma is crazy." Ranger said while his chest was shaking with silent laughter.

"Mom did Dickies secretary call you and inform you about the meeting in the morning?" Steph asked once they were on the elevator.

"Yes, she said something about a will. I knew Albert and she had one, but I didn't know they were using him as their lawyer. I assumed since Albert was a lawyer he would handle it himself."

"Well it needed to be notarized and he probably felt better with someone else handling it. Do you have any idea why I would need to be there?"

"Not sure dear, maybe she left you something." Helen said just as they got to Angies' room. Mary Alice was already on five.

When they walked in the doctor was using a pen light to check her eyes. "Her pupils are now dilating, so that means that her concussion is getting better. And her fever broke about an hour ago, and there is no sign of infection. If she continues to improve we will be moving her first thing in the morning. I just gave her some Tylenol so she should sleep through the night."

Let's go on up and check on Mary Alice and then we can go home and get some sleep.

"Lead the way, Babe."

When they arrived in Mary Alice's room she was also asleep so Steph tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and silently walked back out. "Since there both asleep and doing better mom, I think we can probably all go home tonight. I'll stop back by after the meeting with Dickie and check on them."

"Alright dear, I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight both of you." Helen said as she was walking toward her car.

"Goodnight Mrs. Plum, Goodnight mom." They both said at the same time.

Morning arrived way too soon to Stephanie's liking. She woke up when Ranger went for his run and couldn't get back to sleep. Now she was getting ready to go to her ex's office.

When she arrived her parents were already there and waiting. Stephanie and Ranger had talked last night and she decided to go to Dickies office on her own. Ranger had not agreed, but told her to take the turbo and call him if she needed anything.

"Mr. and Mrs. Plum, Stephanie, if you would follow me into my office we can get down to business. Thank you all for agreeing to meet me on such short notice. I know the funeral is tomorrow so this needed to be taken care of today."

"About a month ago, Valerie and Albert came to me and requested to have a will made up, so in case of their deaths their children would be taken care of. The reason it is just the three of you is because Albert had no living relatives, and there was only one person listed on the will." No one said anything so Dickie continued on.

"The reason I asked Mr. and Mrs. Plum here is because Valarie left a letter for you both in case of her death. She did asked that the will be read before your letter, as the letter would explain things. Stephanie it was stated in the will by both Valarie and Albert that in case of their deaths you were to be the sole beneficiary of their estate. This estate consists of their 3 bedroom ranch home in Trenton, $25,000 and you are to be named as sole guardian of both of their daughters. Mary Alice age 7 and Angie age 9. She stated that both the house and the money were to be used to take care of her children. She said that you can keep their last names as they are now, change them to Plum, or in the event you marry, you can have their last names changed to that of your husbands."

"What, is she crazy? What was she thinking there is no way I can take care of two girls? I can barely take care of myself. Half the time I forget to feed Rex. What am I going to do with two kids? Why didn't she leave them to mom and dad?" up until now Steph had been speechless, now she was having a full blown panic attack. "I don't know the first thing about being a mother. What if the girls don't even want to live with me, then what?"

"Why don't we let your parents read their letter now and maybe that will explain things for you." Dickie said as he handed Mrs. Plum the letter.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_I know that you are probably in shock. First off that I'm dead, and second that I left everything to Stephanie. Believe me when I tell you this, I spent several sleepless nights trying to make this decision. I know that you and daddy would have taken excellent care of the girls, and I know that you both will be there to help Stephanie out in any way she needs it. With Grandma living at your house and you and daddy being older, I felt that it would have been more of a burden than a blessing for you to have to take in two kids full time. The girls are both active in after school sports, they are going to need help with homework, and Mary Alice is extremely hyper at times. I felt that since Stephanie is younger she would be able to handle the running around better than you could. Also I have worried about Stephanie living in that apartment since the day she moved in. This way I know she will be safe. Both of my girls love their aunt very much. I sit them down one night and talked to them about this and asked them if they would want to live with Stephanie if I was no longer around and they said yes. So there is no need to worry sis about them not wanting to live with you. I know that she can come to you guys anytime she will need help or advice. I know she has a lot of friends that will help her out. You just enjoy life and enjoy being grandparents. _

_I love you all very much. Tell my girls every day for me that I love them, and they were the best things that ever happened to me._

_With all my love, _

_Valarie._

"Well dear it seems that she thought it all out, and as much as I love my grand children I tend toagree with her that you would make a better mother for her. Your father and I just don't havethe patients anymore to handle young children. You are a good choice as their mother dear. At least she is not letting a stranger take care of them."

"I still think she is crazy. What do I know about kids? I jumped off a roof. I let a boy play choo-choo with me at the age of six, what if I scar them for life, and what about bounty hunting, I am not giving that up."

"Are there any other questions that you have for me at this time?" Dickie asked; bring the attention back to him. "The deeds to the property just need your signature and then you take it to the bank to have them changed over. They had a stipulation that in the case of their death the mortgage was to be paid off, so the house is yours free and clear. As soon as the children are released from the hospital they will be in your care. All hospital bills will be taken care of through the car insurance company. If there are no questions for me, you are free to leave."

"Thank you Mr. Orr for having us come down and taking care of this. And thank you for everything you done for my daughter. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you." Helen said as she was getting ready to leave his office.

"I did what I was paid to do Mrs. Plum. I am sorry about the death of your daughter."

"Thanks Dickie for everything. If I have any questions I'll call you." Steph told him as she too was leaving.

"Just make sure you get the deed signed and to the bank as soon as possible, and you'll need to decide if you are changing the girls last name."

"I won't be changing their last name unless that is something they want." With that she walked out of his office.

When Stephanie left his office she had so many things going through her mind, she was having a hard time concentrating on driving, she decided it would be best to stop before she herself got in an accident. She found a local park and decided to hang out there for a while. She didn't realize that she had been there for almost two hours until Ranger showed up.

"Hey Babe, you ok? I went by the hospital to make sure everything was alright, but got worried when no one had seen you there. I called control room and my GPS showed you here." Man of few words sure had a lot to say.

When she didn't answer he began to worry. "Babe?" he quietly said and crouched down in front of the swing she was currently setting on.

She looked up at him as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Dickie read my sisters will today and she left her house, her money, and her daughters too me. I don't know the first thing about being a mother Ranger. What if I screw up? What if there life turns out to be as screwed up as mine? I'm a bad hamster mommy. What do I do now?" she was sobbing hysterically by this point.

"Babe, look at me. I don't know of any woman alive who knows how to be a mother until they have a child; I am sure that once they are living with you your maternal instinct will kick in. And I never want to hear you say you're a screw up again. You are far from a screw up. You go out there every day and conquer whatever life throws at you and this will be no different. And what you have to do now is to take one day at a time. That needs to be your new motto. You face a challenge as it happens, and if you can't do it alone you asked someone for help. I will be there to help you anyway you need it. Don't worry about it. I personally think you will be a great mother. So don't sell yourself short before you have even tried."

"Wow Batman I think you may have broken a record that was the longest speech I have ever heard. And I have sat in on a few of your meetings." She smiled for the first time since he got there.

"Smartass, I'll say as much as I need to in order to help you out, and I'll do anything to see that beautiful smile."

"Oh yeah, anything." She gave a mischievous smile.

"What do you have in mind?" wolf grin in place.

"Oh, I don't know maybe a Boston cream, or a Pinos pizza, or McDonald's fries."

"How about all three, I'll even give the temple a day off and join you."

"Oh God, it's the end of the world. Batman and junk food." She was laughing now.

With that he pulled her out of the swing and into his arms. "Feel better, Babe?" he asked before his lips found hers.

When the kiss ended he pulled back to look in her eyes. She smiled and he stepped back further. "I guess we should go feed you."

"Sounds good, then I need to go to the hospital and find out if the girls will be able to go to the funeral in the morning. Then I need to have a talk with them about living with me fulltime."

**Next chapter "Another Talk with Girls" will be up soon. Then "The Funeral" and then "Girls go Home" Still not sure how many chapters there will be total. Thanks for all the great reviews I have been getting. I appreciate each and every one of them. **


	7. Chapter 7 Another Talk with the Girls

**Still don't own them. I keep hoping maybe next chapter, but probably NOT! Thanks for all the great reviews and positive feedback, I look forward to checking my reviews everyday now. Hope I am still doing it justice. Let me know what you think. Have a great day! **

_**Chapter Seven "Another Talk with the Girls."**_

After they went to the Tasty Pastry for Boston creams, Pinos for a pizza, and McDonald's for large cokes and fries, which Ranger ate everything by the way, they headed back to the hospital.

When they arrived on the ICU floor, they were met in the hallway by Dr. Bentley. "Good Afternoon. You will be pleased to know that Angie's condition did continue to improve over the course of last night and this morning, so she was moved to the fifth floor with her sister."

"That is wonderful news, thank you."Steph smiled at the doctor and shook her hand.

"I have signed a form stating that the girls are to be checked out in your care, in order to attend their mother's funeral. Angie will need to be in a wheelchair the entire time. Mary Alice will have a walking cast, to make it easier for her to get around in. Try to keep them off their feet as much as possible and as soon as the funeral is over both girls will need to return to the hospital. I would say if everything continues to improve they will be released by Monday, I will administer Tylenol for both girls before they leave and that should minimize their discomfort, they are not on a restricted diet now, so feel free to feed them anything they desire. Are there any other questions or concerns?" she smiled and looked back at her chart.

"No I think you covered everything." Thank you.

"You're very welcome." And she walked down the hall.

"Ranger, would you mind if I went in and talked to the girls by myself. They don't know you too well yet and I don't want them to feel intimidated by you."

"No Babe, not at all, I understand. I have a couple of phone calls I need to make so I'll just hang out in the waiting room." He turned to her in the elevator and took her in his arms. "Do I make you feel intimidated Babe?' his lips were slightly twitching and his eyes were twinkling.

Leaning into his embrace she smiled up at him, "You know you do, Batman. I bet even your own mother feels that way when you walk into the room."

"Babe," Ranger smiled his two-hundred watt smile and then leaned in to place a lingering kiss on her lips. They stayed that way until the elevator stopped.

"See ya in a few, Batman" Steph smiled and walked down the hall toward the girls room, leaving him to his phone calls.

Stephanie suddenly felt a wave of panic as she neared the girls' door. She had been trying to be strong in front of Ranger, but truth be told she was scared to death. What in the world possessed her sister to think that she was capable of raising two girls; she couldn't even walk into their room and talk to them. "Get a grip" she told herself. "There little girls, I was little once, I can handle this." She wasn't entirely sure that was true, but she held her chin high and walked into the room.

When she entered both girls were laying in bed watching a SpongeBob cartoon. "Hey aunt Steph, both girls said at the same time.

"How are you girls feeling today? The doctor told me that you Angie are doing much better." Steph said as she pulled a chair between their beds and sat down.

"I do feel a lot better, but it's still hard to breath." this from Angie.

"Yeah, I feel better to except my chest hurts a lot. Dr. said that would happen until my ribs heal." was Mary Alice's reply.

"The doctor is telling you the truth. I had broken ribs once and it hurt. Just try not to move around too much, and don't take deep breaths.

"Listen girls do you mind if I turn off the television? I need to have a little talk with both of you." Both girls shook their heads no, so she picked up the remote and turned the TV off.

"The reason I am a little late getting here today is because I had to talk to a lawyer. Your mother had let some instructions with him in case something happened to her, and I need to discuss them with you." When they nodded she went on.

"Your mother wants both of you girls to stay with me. She left me her house and some money so that I could take care of you. She wanted you to be someplace safe, and still be able to see your friends. And have your own room."

"I first need to know if you are both ok with living with me and Rex."

"Mommy already asked us that, she said she needed to know so she could write it down. We said yes. We love you Aunt Steph." was Angies reply.

"I love you girls too, are you sure this is what you want?"

"I want to stay with you, but I don't want to live at our old house no more. That is where mommy lived. I want to live somewhere else. We can live at your place?" Mary Alice had tears in her eyes.

"Honey my place is way too small for all of us. I have 1 bed and 1 bathroom. Where would you sleep? Not to mention that my place is too dangerous. Sometimes people break in. I would not want you girls living there. Your mommy wanted you to still have your home so you wouldn't have to move and leave everything, your friends, your school, your house."

"My mommy lived there Aunt Steph, every time I was in the house I would think of her, and miss her and then I'd be sad. Please don't make me stay there."

"I will not make any promises; we can't stay in my apartment. I need to talk to a friend and see if I can make other arrangements, ok? That means we may have to stay there for a while, or at grandma and grandpas."

"Ok, I understand, but please try."

"I promise to try my best. I do have one other thing I need to talk to you about. The funeral is tomorrow and the doctor said you can both go. Angie you will need to be in a wheel chair the whole time. I have a friend who has a van, so he will be driving us there."

"Also, I need to get you both a dress to wear. Do you have one at home in black?" both shook head yes. "Ok, I will stop by tonight and pick them up. I will come by in the morning to help you both dress. Is there anything special you want to take to the funeral home? I thought maybe a picture of you to put in with your mommy."

"We had a picture taken of all of us. Mommy put in on her table by the bed." Angie told her.

"Ok, I will get that tonight as well. I picked out a poem that I want read about a sister tomorrow. Is there something special you want done?"

"Could you find us a poem about mommies?"

"Sure sweetie, I can look some up on the internet and read them to you in the morning, and you can chose which one you want, will that be ok?"

When both heads nodded, she seen they both looked tired. "Listen girls we are going to have a busy day tomorrow and I have several things I need to take care of. I am going to go ahead and leave; if you need me tonight the nurse can call me on my cell. OK?"

"Yeah, sure." Both agreed.

"Ok, you girls get a goodnight sleep and I love you both very much." She walked over to each of them and gently hugged and kissed them before she left.

When Stephanie walked into the waiting room, Ranger was sitting on the couch talking on his cell phone, when he saw her he stood up, disconnected and walked over to her. "Hey babe, everything go alright?"

"Yeah, for the most part I guess. I need to run by Valarie's house and pick up the girls dresses for in the morning, and also grab a family picture. Would you mind taking me?"

"Sure Babe, no problem. Are you sure your okay, seems like something on your mind."

"Yeah, I'm alright. The girls have an issue about the house, I wanted to talk to you about it, but right now I have fifty other things going through my head."

"That's ok Babe, whenever you want to talk about it, just let me know." He smiled and winked.

"Thanks, I also need to go to my apartment and pick up a dress and shoes and feed Rex."

"I'm ready if you are, Babe."

An hour later they were walking into the seventh floor penthouse at Haywood. "I need to run down to my cubicle and surf the internet, I have to find a poem about mommies for the girls. I promised I would bring some in the morning and they could decide which one they liked."

"Steph you can use my laptop in my office same password as downstairs. Its set up to a printer as well. Take all the time you need, and while you do that I am going to jump in the shower."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Are you hungry? Want Ella to bring you anything?"

"No thanks, I'll just grab a bottle of water."

Two hours later, she had found several poems, copied the picture, laid her clothes out and took a shower. Now she was curled up on the couch in Rangers arms. "You know a girl could get use to this." She teased.

"Is that so?" he smiled and then leaned don and nuzzled her neck with his nose.

"Yeah, that's so." She slightly turned her head so he had access to her neck.

"Any girl or just you?" he asked while kissing her neck and moving up her jaw line, stopping just short of her lips.

"Um, what was the question?" she was too distracted by his lips to think straight.

"That's what I thought." and with that he brought his lips to hers and gently brushed them, then pulled back and looked in her eyes. He brought his forehead down and rested it on hers.

"Stephanie, there are a few things I need to talk to you about, but I want to wait until after the funeral to do so." Before she could answer he placed his lips back on hers again, this time the kiss was hot, hard and long. By the time he pulled back they were both breathless, then he wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest. She fell asleep listening to the sound of his heartbeat.


	8. Chapter 8 'Day of the Funeral

**Still don't own any of them. Okay maybe the preacher or funeral director, but no one good. I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews. This chapter has been a little difficult to write. Hope I did it justice and don't let my readers down. I tried to make it emotional without going overboard. Feel free to review good or bad, I appreciate it all. Have a nice day……Tracy**

_**Chapter Eight "Day of the Funeral"**_

I woke up to the feel of warm lips pressing soft kisses all over the side of my neck, at first I wasn't sure where I was, but then I remembered that I was still on the couch, apparently still on Ranger, where we had fallen asleep. "Good morning, Babe" he whispered when he realized that I was awake.

"Good morning. What time is it?"

"It's just after five, Babe. I need to get up and go for a run, after all that junk I consumed yesterday, and you need to get up and start getting ready. You are supposed to be there at nine. By the time we get to the hospital and you help the girls get ready, we will be pushing it."

When Ranger came back into his penthouse and hour later he found Stephanie standing in front of the bedroom window overlooking the street below, he didn't have to see her face to know she was crying, he could see her body slightly shaking and here her shallow breaths. "Babe?" he quietly asked as walked toward her. Not getting a reply he took her arms in his hands and gently turned her to face him. "Steph, you ok?" as he took in her puffy red eyes, and tear streaked cheeks.

"Yeah, I'll be alright, it just kind of hit me while I was getting dressed that this is the last time I'm ever going to see my sister. I loved her so much, you know and I just feel so empty. She had her life and I had mine, and we only seen each other at mom and dads, but now I know I'll never see her again, and it hurts, it really hurts. Now I have Angie and Mary Alice to think about, and I'm afraid I won't be a good role model for them, and that I'll let Valarie and the girls down. I screw up everything, my job, my life, my marriage." By now new tears were streaming down her face and she was sobbing.

Ranger gathered her in his arms and held her. "Babe, it's natural to feel this way. I know you don't believe me, but it will get easier over time. The pain will lessen. She was your only sister, of course you're going to miss her, but you're being too hard on yourself. You are not a screw up, Babe. Sometimes life hands you a bad hand, but you go with it, and by the end of the day you have it all back under control. As far as those girls go, you will be a very good role model for them; you are strong, brave, and beautiful. You will not let them down, and you will not let your sister down. I have known you for five years now and you have never let me down. As far as relationships go, Babe. Everyone screws them up. Your ex-husband cheated on you so that was not your fault." he placed a kiss on the top of her head and stepped back so he could see her face.

"Thanks Ranger, you always know just the right things to say. Thank you for taking care of me these last few days. That has meant a lot to me. I'll be ok now, you better go get ready."

"You sure, Babe?" he was still looking in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Hour and hour later Ranger was showered and dressed and they were on the way to pick up the girls. He has decided to take the company mini-van so they would have room for the girls and the wheel chair. Once they arrived Stephanie helped the girls dress in matching Calvin Klein Long Sleeved Black Jersey Dresses that came just below the knees, then she braided their hair, neither wore shoes since they each had a cast on. Once they were ready the nurse helped Angie into the wheel chair and made sure Mary Alice could stand on her walking cast. Then they proceeded to go down to the waiting room to find Ranger.

"Girls this is Ranger Manoso, he is a friend of mine. He brought a van and is going to drive us over to the funeral home."

"Hi Mr. Manoso," both girls replied.

"Hi girls, you can call me Ranger. Everyone else does."

Once the introductions were made he helped push Angie down and helped her to get out of the wheelchair and into the van.

When they arrived at the funeral home, her mother was waiting for them out in the parking lot. She hugged and kissed both girls and said hello to Ranger than walked over to Stephanie. "Dear, I wanted to talk to you before we went in."

"Sure mom," thinking what could possibly be wrong now.

"We never had a chance to go over what arrangements had been made. Valarie and Albert decided that they did not want to have a service at the church, since neither had been in several years. They are going to have visitation here, and Father Alex is going to lead the service at the grave site. Then we want you and the girls and Ranger of course to come back to our house for dinner before the girls go back to the hospital. Is that ok with you dear?"

"We will have to see how the girls are feeling mom. Dr. Bentley didn't want to give them morphine today, because it makes them tired, so it depends how long the Tylenol last. We need to get the girls inside now."

"Of course dear, why don't you go ahead inside and Ranger and I will bring the girls along."

"Thanks mom." Steph hugged her mom and walked away.

When Stephanie made her way into the viewing area, the first thing she saw was both caskets sitting beside each other at the front, and all of the flowers on the caskets and along the wall. She didn't know if she would be able to go up there or not, once she seen her sister it would be real. In all the times her and her grandmother had been in this funeral home, she never thought they would be here for Valarie. With her line of work she figured she would go first. She noticed that several family members were already seated on the left side, but that no one was up front. Deciding it was now or never, she slowly made her way to the front. Walking first to Albert's casket, she crossed herself and said a silent prayer. Albert was in a Navy Blue suite and had a Navy Blue stripped tie on. After she stood there a few she then walked over to her sisters.

Valarie was in a wooden casket with a pink insert that said Mother, Daughter, and Wife. She looked like an Angel dressed in a white dress with pink roses on the collar. Her hair was long and curled with a pink rose pinning the side back. In her hands she was holing a stuffed teddy bear that the girls had given her for mothers' day that year. The bears shirt said #1 mom. Stephanie pulled the family picture out of her purse and placed it inside the casket, and leaned down and kissed her sisters forehead. "I love you, sis." she said as the tears were again streaming down her face.

Once she composed herself she turned to find Ranger standing silently behind her. She walked up to him and took his hand, and led him up to the front to stand with her. For the next three hours she stood up front as people came and went to pay their condolences. It seems like everybody from Trenton showed up. Mary Lou and Lenny, Vinnie and Lucille, Connie, Lula, Dickie, Eddie, Shirley, Big Dog, Carl, Tank, Lester, Bobby, Ram, Cal, Hal, Woody, Manny, several that went to school with Valarie, and of course Joe.

"Hey Cupcake, Manoso" Joe said as he leaned in to hug her. She felt Ranger's hand tense in hers as soon as Joe walked up to her.

"Hey Joe, thanks for coming." she said returning his hug.

"Yeah sure, I'm sorry about your sister Steph. If you need anything you know where to find me."

"Thanks Joe."

"After the funeral do you want to come over for dinner? I could grab Pinos." Joe asked Steph.

"No thanks Joe, Ranger and I have already been invited to my parents for dinner, plus I need to get the girls back to the hospital." Steph told him hoping he would take the hint.

"Sure Cupcake, I understand. We'll do it another night." Was Joe's reply, but he didn't look all too happy at the thought of her having dinner with Ranger.

"Maybe, but I doubt it," was her reply. That got her a strange look from Joe, and the eyebrow raise from Ranger. Joe walked off without a word leaving Steph and Ranger alone.

"What as that about Babe?" Ranger was curious why she would turn down Pinos with Joe.

"Joe and I have been off for a while, and I'm not sure I want to get back together this time." she told him and shrugged her shoulder.

Ranger decided to let the subject drop for now and talk to her about it at a more convenient time.

Stephanie noticed that the girls stayed with her mom and grandma all day. They had been up to the casket when they first arrived but after that they had went back and sat in the first row. She knew this had to be hard on them. She figured her mother could handle talking to the girls about it better than she could.

At one o'clock they announced that it was time to go to the cemetery for the service. They all made their way to the cars to follow the hearse. Rangers van was the first in line. They had decided that her mom, dad and grandma could just ride over with them.

At the Cemetery Father Alex lead the prayer, and said a few words, then read the poems that were picket out. The first one he read was from Stephanie.

**. . . TO MY SISTER . . .  
I'm blessed to call you sister,  
I also call you friend;  
You've loved me unconditionally,  
And stood through thick and thin.  
You've shared my joys and sorrows,  
my laughter and my tears.  
You've been my inspiration,  
as we grew up through the years.  
When we were little children  
we laughed and played together;  
then growing up you stood by me,  
through good and stormy weather.**

**There's something God has given us,  
That's more than family;  
He's placed a love for you, my Sister,  
Deep down in the heart of me.****  
****By: Allison Chambers Coxsey**

By the time the poem was read Stephanie was sobbing and Ranger took her in his arms and held her. "Breath, Babe. Its ok I've got you. It will be okay I promise." he whispered into her ear, while he held her and stroked her back until her sobs had quieted down. "You okay, Babe?" he quietly asked when she looked up at him. She was only able to nod yes, and then focused back on Father Alex., next was the poem chosen by the girls.

…**..Once….**

**Once I had a mother who was very good to me **

**And any time I was bad she sat me on her knee.  
One night as I lay sleeping upon my bed  
An angel came down from heaven to say my mama was dead  
I woke up to see that it was true and this broke my heart in two **

**So listen all you children and do as you are told  
'coz when it's time for your mother to go to heaven you will lose a heart of gold. **

By; Destiny Kendall

By the time the poem was finished there was not a dry eye in the place. Stephanie made her way over to the girls and took them in her arms; the three of them cried and held each other. Everyone sat silently. Several minutes passed before Stephanie once again stood up, then she walked over to her parents and embraced them, then made her way back to her seat.

Row by row everyone was dismissed. When everyone else had gone, Stephanie placed one final rose on her sisters casket and whispered "I love you" before making her way over to the van.

The girls were both hurting by the time the funeral was over, so they decided to decline dinner at her parents, instead they hit the drive thru at McDonald's and headed back to the hospital.

When they arrived back at the hospital Stephanie helped the girls change and then handed out the food. "Okay girls do you need me to get the nurse so you can have some morphine for the pain?" when both nodded yes, she pushed the call button and when the nurse came in she told her what they needed. Once the girls were fed and had their pain medicine, Steph stayed with them until they fell asleep. She told the nurse to call if they needed her and made her way to the waiting room.

"Babe, do you want anything? I can have Ella bring you something if you're hungry?" Ranger was a little worried about her; she had declined breakfast, dinner at her parents, and pizza with Joe, not to mention McDonald's.

"No thanks Ranger, I'm not really hungry. I would like a Tylenol though."

"Sure Babe, have a seat on the couch and I'll bring them too you."

When he returned to the living room, he handed Stephanie two Tylenol and a bottle of water. Once she had taken them, he took the bottle and set it on the coffee table and sat down. He rested his back against the armrest and took her into his arms.

"You feel okay?" he asked her after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, just tired, and all that crying gave me a headache." She quietly told him. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of Course you can, Babe."

"I was talking to the girls yesterday and I told them about Val leaving me the house and that she wanted me to take care of them. They had no problem with me keeping them, but they don't want to live in the house, to many memories of Val. I told them I would make other arrangements. What I need to know is if Hector could come and install an alarm at my apartment. I would feel a little safer with them staying with me that way."

"Absolutely not, I hate you staying in that place anyway, and it's definitely not safe for your nieces, plus its way too small for the three of you. I'm glad you brought it up though. That was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Lester is moving out of his apartment on four and I have an opening. It's a two bedroom, two bath apartment. I would like it if you and the girls would stay here. You can decorate it anyway you want it, and you would have security and Ella."

"What made you decide that? You didn't kick Lester out did you?" she was worried she had caused him to lose his place.

"First off I didn't kick him out, he recently got promoted to second in command and that came with a raise, so he decided he wanted to buy a house of his own. He was the last of the core team still living here.

"Secondly, I have been thinking about you staying here for a while now, even before you got custody of your nieces. I always worry about you in that death trap you call an apartment and I like the thought of you living closer.

"Thirdly, I wanted to offer you a full time position, and that position comes with an apartment."

"Wow, I don't know what to say, sounds like you have put some thought into this." She turned in his arms so she could look at him. "Are you sure that you would want kids living here?"

"Yeah Babe, they are good kids and Julie stays here whenever she's in town. Ella would love having kids around to cook for, just think of all the desserts you'll have."

"You sold me on that one." She smiled at him. "Why do you want me to work here?"

"Well at first it was because I knew you weren't pulling in enough FTA's sometimes to even buy food, so this would be a guaranteed weekly paycheck. Now I think it would be a better job for you, now that you have your nieces. It would mean more money, regular hours, and safer. You would be doing all of the searches, and helping with distractions, plus you could work monitors, or from time to time help with a redecorating job."

"The girls will be here in the building when you're working, and Ella can help keep an eye on them when you need to be out of the office, plus I figured you might need some help keeping up with laundry, and since you don't cook, the girls won't have to live on fast food."

"I will consider moving here on one condition. I pay you rent. There will be three of us living here, using you water, electricity, your food and none of that comes cheap. Plus it will mean extra work for Ella."

"No Babe, all that is included with the job, and no price, remember."

"No deal than Batman. I might have said okay if it was just me, but none of your other employees have kids. And anywhere else I live I would have expenses."

"Fine, if that's the only way to get you to agree."

"Good, that's one less thing to worry about. Now I guess I have to move out of my apartment, move the girls stuff here, and clean out Val's place so I can sell it."

"That's no problem Babe. Whenever you need to move I can have the guys help you. We have several vans. You just pack and they can take care of the rest."

"Always have a plan don't ya Batman." she smiled at him. "I think I am going to get ready for bed, it's been a long day."

"Okay Babe, when you get up in the morning, do you want to have breakfast here or go to Shorty's?"

"Um, Shorty's waffles sound good. Maybe I'll feel like eating by then." She got up from the couch and took his hand and led him to the bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9 The WeekendPart 1

**Still don't own them, JE just don't know how to share. Oh well at least I can play with them. Hope I am still doing okay. I promise this chapter to be happier than last, but expect a run in with Mrs. Plum to try and dampen the mood. Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy your weekend…..Tracy.**

_**Chapter Nine "The Weekend Part 1"**_

Saturday morning Ranger woke up early to go for his run and then he needed to make a few phone calls and set some of his plans into motion. Looking down at the woman still in his arms one last time, he placed a kiss in her curls and silently slipped out of bed.

Two hours later he was setting in his office, phone in hand. "Ella, I wandered if I could ask you for a favor? I know it's your weekend off, but I have a special project in mind."

"Of course Carlos, anything you need just ask."

"Last night I ask Stephanie to move into the apartment on four and she accepted. Her two nieces are going to be living with her so I wanted to make some changes before she moved in. I am going to buy her a king bed for her room, and get the girls matching canopy beds for their rooms. I wanted you to be in charge of buying the sheets, comforters, and curtains for the rooms. Stephanie loves my sheets, so I want you to get her a set like mine. The girls will have twin beds. I was thinking soft colors like yellows and light green, maybe a little pink."

"That sounds nice Carlos, what about Stephanie's room?"

"Maybe blue, something that matches her eyes. Do you think if I got a couple of the guys to help, Louis would be up to painting this weekend? The girls are going to be released hopefully on Monday so I need to get the ball rolling. With everything else that has been going on, I don't want Steph to have to worry about decorating an apartment. Lester is leaving his sectional, dining room table, and entertainment center. I am going to have Tank and Hector pick up a flat screen, blue ray disk player, and surround sound speakers for her. Also the bathrooms will need to be decorated to match the bedrooms. You think you can handle a shopping spree and decorating this weekend?" he ask, worried it might be too big of a task.

"Carlos, I was born to shop. I will buy everything today while the guys paint, and do the decorating tomorrow."

"Thanks Ella, I will give you Monday and Tuesday off to make up for the weekend."

"Nonsense, if the girls are going to be here on Monday, then I will be here to help."

"One last thing Ella, I need this to be a surprise for Stephanie. I am going to take her over to Val's later today and have her pack just clothes and toys for the girls, and then have her pack her stuff at her apartment. I am going to tell her the guys will be by to pick it all up Sunday."

"That's fine if they bring it up to four, I will put it all away for them."

"Thanks Ella, I see a Bonus in your future." Ranger was smiling, thinking how surprised Steph would be.

A couple more calls to make and then it was time to take Steph to breakfast. Then maybe see the girls, and then spend the afternoon together. First he called Tank and arranged for him and Hector to go to Best Buy, then he called Hal, Ram, and Cal to help Louis with the painting, then he called Lester to make sure all his stuff was moved out. Once that was taken care of he was on his way back up to seven.

When he arrived upstairs he was surprised to find Stephanie not only up, but dressed and setting at the breakfast bar drinking a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Babe." Walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Morning, Ranger." She said and leaned into him.

"Are you ready to go to Shorty's yet for some waffles?" smiling down at her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"No, I'm not really hungry. I need to run by the apartment and fed Rex and then go visit the girls."

"Babe, you need to eat something. Do you want Ella to bring you anything? Or I could take you to get a Boston Cream."

"Thanks Batman, but I'm just not hungry. My stomach feels like I have a flock of geese flying around in it."

"Do you want to see if Bobby has something to make you feel better?" he was worried that she was starting to get sick.

"No, my nerves are shot; I'll be okay in a day or to, don't worry."

"Okay, but if you start to feel dizzy, or nauseous you let me know alright."

"I will, I promise."

"Alright, I thought we could run by the hospital to see the girls, and then I wanted to take you over to pack up the girls' clothes and toys so the guys could pick them up Sunday and take them to four. Then I thought we could do the same at your apartment. Then I thought maybe we could spend the afternoon together. Watch a movie, go shopping, out to eat, your choice. What do you think?"

"That sounds good to me. I need to stop by and let Dylan know that I am going to be moving anyway."

"Good, I'm ready when you are." With that he placed a kiss on her lips and stepped back from her embrace.

There first stop was to her apartment where she packed all of her clothes and shoes, her movies, her kitchen appliances, and bathroom essentials. Then she placed all her watt knots and pictures in a box along with all her miscellaneous junk that had been collected. Ranger told her to just it all in the hall and the guys would take care of the rest. She decided to take Rex with her back to Haywood so she could keep an eye on him. After that was done, they stopped by McDonalds and picked up lunch for the girls and headed for the hospital.

When they arrived both girls were asleep, the nurse informed them that the girls had been in a lot of pain and were each given a dose of morphine, so they would probably sleep all afternoon. They decided to just leave and stop back by later in the evening.

Just as they were walking up the side walk to Valarie's house Stephanie's cell phone rang. Checking the display and noticing it was her mother calling, she decided to take it. "Stephanie, this is your mother."

"I know mom I have caller ID. What do you need?" Steph said glancing at Ranger, and rolling her eyes.

"I want you and Joseph to come to dinner tomorrow night. It has been three weeks since he have all eaten a meal together."

"Mom, I will try to make it to dinner tomorrow but Joe and I are still broke up, and he will not be joining us."

"What do you mean you broke up, you need him now more than ever, how are you going to raise those kids without a husband, and what will everyone think? I raised you better than that." her mother was yelling so loud she had to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Mom, I do not have any intentions of getting married to Joe now or ever, and I certainly do not need to marry him just so I can take care of the girls. I was unmarried when Valarie left them to me."

"How are you going to support them by yourself, be reasonable Stephanie."

"Mom, I am in the middle of something right now and I don't wish to discuss this any further. I will see you tomorrow night for dinner, but I will be alone. And you better not go behind my back and invite Joe like you did the last time or I will leave." Stephs voice was rising with every sentence.

"Fine Stephanie, have it your way, I just hope when you come to your senses Joe will take you back again."

"I have come to my senses mother, that's why I broke up with have. I got to go mom." she hung up without waiting for a reply.

"Proud of you, Babe." Ranger told her when she hung up.

"Thanks, we better get in there and get this over with or it will never get done."

Once they were in the girls' room, they started gathering all of the clothes up and placing them in garbage bags. Then they moved on to the stuffed animals and toys.

"We can keep those in the toy boxes, and put them in the girls' room. We just need to pack up the movies, books, and games and this room will be done. They will probably also want the television and DVD player." Stephanie told him while continuing to pack. "I also need to empty out the girls' bathroom. Then I think that will be all the stuff we can pack.

"Babe?" Ranger said while looking around the house.

"Yeah?" came her reply

"I have been looking around, and I would like to buy this house. I always need houses in town to put clients in and for when employees come from out of town for extended periods, and I think this house is the perfect size." Ranger explained while still looking around.

"If you think that is what you want Ranger, I can talk to Dickie and get the deed changed to your name."

"Thanks Babe, I will have my lawyer contact him one day next week."

"Sure, one less thing I have to worry about." She sat down on the sofa and put her head in her hands.

"Is something the matter, Babe?" Ranger asked and came and sat next to her.

"Just have a headache, the last few days are taking a toll on me, and then my mother yelling at me over the phone didn't help." She almost whispered her reply.

"Babe, I am sure that's part of it, but you are probably also hungry. You haven't eaten anything for over twenty-four hours and the beast needs to be fed. Why don't we go pick up Chinese, rent a movie and head back to Haywood for a while. Maybe even grab an afternoon nap."

"Okay maybe I am a little hungry. Can we get fried egg rolls, and fried rice, and fried wontons?" she was smiling at him now.

"Babe that stuff will kill ya, but yes you can have anything you want." He smiled and they got off the couch and headed for the car.

After stopping to get the food, and a movie, they were heading toward Haywood. It was Ranger who broke the silence. "Babe, what's going on with you and Morelli? I noticed he kind of received the cold shoulder yesterday, and then from the conversation with your mother, it sounded like he was on your hit list."

"We broke up a couple months ago; I found out that he had taken a job out of town just so he could be partnered with Terry Gilman. The assignment lasted for six weeks, and they were going to have to pose as a couple, when I confronted him about it, he just said no big deal Cupcake, just part of the job. I didn't believe it was as innocent as he made it out, so I broke up with him. Now he's back and wants to get back together, but I don't. I am tired of every man in my life cheating on me, and thinking that it is no big deal."

"I'm sorry; some men just don't know how to keep it in their pants, no matter how special the woman is. If that's the kind of person he is, then he doesn't deserve you." Rangers reach across the console and took her hand in his.

"Well, that doesn't make it any easier. Not that I am really all that upset about it. I mean the first couple of weeks I was, but with everything else going on, I figure I have enough to deal with, without worry about Morelli or what my mother thinks."

"I take it; Morelli doesn't know it's over."

"I'm sure he does, he's just hoping I will change my mind, yet again." she shrugged her shoulders and looked back out the side window.

Ranger decided to drop the subject, he wanted to spend a nice evening with her, not chat about the cop. When they arrived at Haywood Steph took Rex to the kitchen while Ranger got the food and a couple bottles of water, he then took everything to the living room. They had decided to watch X-Men Wolverine since she was a huge Hugh Jackman fan and he had never seen it. By the time they were finished eating and the movie was over, Steph was curled up in his arms with her head on his shoulder asleep. He decided to let her sleep and he headed down to four to check out the progress.

**This is turning out to be a pretty long Chapter so I decided to break it into two parts. This was Saturday- Part two will be Sunday and the diner at her mom and dad's house. What do you think should Ranger go with her, will Grandma hit on him or be gone? What do you want to see happen. Hope I am still doing an okay job with story. Thanks for all the Reviews they are much appreciated. **


	10. Chapter 10 The Weekend Part 2

**Not mine, never have been, never will. This is part two of the weekend. Hope Part one was to your liking. Mrs. Plum will make another appearance. You didn't think she would just accept the fact that Steph wasn't with Joe easily did you. Don't be silly. Hope you are having a good weekend. Now on with the story…..**

_**Chapter Ten "The Weekend Part 2"**_

Stephanie woke to the aroma of bacon cooking. Looking around she noticed that she was alone, in Rangers bed, but he was absent, so she figured he was in the kitchen cooking. When she walked into the kitchen, she found him leaning over the breakfast bar, drinking a smoothie, wearing nothing but a pair of black silk boxers. Glancing over his shoulder he noticed her standing in the doorway, he smiled a sexy half smile and walked over to her.

"See something you like, Babe?" The wolf grin had come out to play.

Rolling her eyes, she reached up and kissed his cheek. "Always," she said before side stepping him and making her way to the counter. She poured herself a cup of coffee, and grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs and took a seat next to the one he had just vacated. "I'm sorry I feel asleep on you last night, you should've woke me up. I needed to go check on the girls."

"No problem, Steph, you were really out of it. I called over to the hospital and talked to the girls' nurse. They'd ate dinner around five and then went back to sleep. The nurse said she told them you'd been in to see them, but they were asleep and they understood. She told them that you would be in this morning and they were fine with that."

"Thanks, Ranger. I guess I better go get ready then." She finished eating and headed off to the shower. Thirty minutes later, she was showered and dressed. She decided to go light on the mascara and only applied one coat. When she walked back into the living room, Ranger walked over to her, took her hand and led her out the door.

They arrived at the hospital and walked into the girls' room, only to find it empty. Stephanie immediately went to the nurses' station to find out what was going on.

"Hi, may I help you?" The nurse sitting at the counter greeted them.

"Yes, I hope so. I'm looking for the girls in room 512 both of them are gone." Stephanie said sounding slightly panicked.

"Let me see if I can find out where they are for you." Ranger stood quietly by her side.

"It seems that Mary Alice had a problem with her cast and they took her down to make an adjustment. Angie was scheduled to have x-rays done this morning. The doctor wanted to find out how her ribs are healing. They should both be back in the room shortly." The nurse calmly explained.

'Thank you," Steph was feeling more at ease now.

"Why we wait Babe, do you want a cup of coffee?"

"Sure, Ranger, that sounds good." She gave in a nod and a smile.

An hour later, both girls had returned to the room. "So are you girls feeling any better?" Steph asked them.

"I am. The doctor said my ribs look a lot better." Angie was the first to speak up.

"I am, too. My cast was rubbing my foot and caused a blister. They had to make it a little bit looser." Mary Alice explained.

"I'm glad you're both feeling better. I wanted to tell you that I've made arrangements with Ranger, and we're going to move into an apartment in his building. We packed up your stuff yesterday. Some of the men that work for him will move it for us. I just wanted to make sure before you get released that you still don't want to live in your house."

"We're sure. We talked about it last night and we'd both be too sad living there again. That was where Mommy lived and it was her house, too. All the stuff in the house was hers, it would be too sad to see it all the time." Mary Alice said with tears in her eyes.

Steph went over and took her into her arms. "Oh, Honey, it's ok. I understand how you feel. I miss your Mommy, too. We all loved her very much and she'd want you both to be happy. Ranger has a big two bedroom apartment for us to move into on the fourth floor, don't worry Angie they have an elevator. He has a housekeeper named Ella that works for him and she makes the best food. I think you'll both love it."

"That sounds nice, Aunt Steph." Both the girls agreed and seemed alright with the idea. Steph was about to say something else, but the doctor walked in.

"Good morning. I was hoping to see you today, Ms. Plum. Both girls are continuing to improve, so I see no reason why they can't be released tomorrow. They'll need to stay on antibiotics to ward off infection. I'll send a prescription for pain medicine in their discharge papers. And they'll need to return in four weeks, to have the cast removed. Other than that, they're good too go. I'll have all the paperwork drawn up and I'd say they should be ready to go around lunchtime tomorrow." The doctor smiled at both the girls, shook hands with Stephanie, nodded to Ranger and left the room.

Shortly after talking with the doctor, Stephanie and Ranger told the girls they had a few things to do, so they needed to leave, but they would be back first thing in the morning to take them to their new home.

"So, Babe, what time do you need to be at your parents' house?" Ranger asked once they were back in the car.

"Not until six, I'm seriously thinking about canceling. I know my Mother's going to give me the third degree about Joe." She mentally cringed at the thought.

"I'll go with you, Babe, if that will make it easier on you." Ranger volunteered.

"Thanks, Batman. But, I better go by myself. I'm afraid if you go that would probably make it worse."

"If you're sure, Babe," at Stephs reluctant nod and sigh, he then asked. "What would you like to do in the meantime?"

"How about we go get some sandwiches at the deli and take them to the park. We can have a picnic. Then maybe go down to the lake and feed the ducks. I'm just in the mood to be outside."

"That sounds good to me, Steph. I haven't had a picnic in the park for probably fifteen years and that was with my sisters."

"Last picnic I went on was when Dickie and I were dating. Once we married he thought all meals should be eaten inside. Joe just wanted beer and pizza in front of the television and it's no fun going alone."

"We'll have to change that, Babe. Once the girls get better, we can bring them to the park and have picnics anytime you want." He picked up her hand, laced their fingers together and laid their joined hands on top of his thigh.

"That sounds nice, I'm sure the girls will like going to the park."

The rest of the afternoon flew by, after they finished eating, Stephanie got on a swing and Ranger pushed her, they'd brought a loaf of bread with them to feed the ducks. They even got into a game of Frisbee with a group of college guys. They spent the whole day laughing, talking and even shared a few kisses. All in all it was the perfect afternoon and just the way to let go of all the tension of the past few days. They stayed at the park until nearly 5:30. Steph knew they needed to leave so that she could go to her parents' house, so when they arrived at the Haywood Ranger turned to Steph and handed her his keys. "Here, Babe you can take the turbo tonight, I know it's your favorite. Just try to make sure I get it back in one piece." He told her as he handed her the keys, but she could see his eyes twinkling and knew he was just teasing her. I make no promises, Batman. You know my luck with cars." She smiled back at him.

"That's Okay, Babe. I don't care about the car, just make sure you come back in one piece," with that he pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. Not breaking the kiss until he had to come up for air.

"Wow, what did I do to deserve that?" She asked trying desperately to catch her breath.

"Just being you, Babe. Now go before I decide to keep you here." They shared a couple softer kisses before she left.

She knew as soon as she pulled up in front of her parents' house how her night was going to go. Her mother was standing on the porch with her arms crossed and shaking her head in apparent disgust. As soon as she got out of the car, her mother started in on her. "Stephanie Plum, what do you think you are doing driving that man's car to my house? If you needed a ride you should have called your father, or better yet, Joe. You shouldn't have to borrow a car from that man."

"Mom, can we at least go into the house, all the neighbors are watching."

"Helen, let the girl come inside. You invited her for dinner, not to yell at her in the front yard." Frank said sharply from his position behind her Mother.

"Thank you, Daddy." She whispered to him as she kissed his cheek.

"You're welcome, Pumpkin."

"Where is Grandma tonight?" Steph knew if Grandma was here, she'd have been in the 'burg housewife position at the door with her Mother.

"She went back to Atlantic City this morning. She said it was too depressing here for her taste." Helen sniped out in a huff.

They were almost finished with dinner before her mother said anything else. "I talked with Joseph today on the phone, Dear and he's willing to give you another chance."

"Mother, you had no right to be talking to him about me. He doesn't need to give me another chance. I didn't do anything wrong." Stephs voice was quickly reaching a yell.

'He said you broke up with him and that you're now dating that Ranger fellow."

"I thought you liked Ranger."

"I do, Dear, but not as your boyfriend. He's just not right for you. Joseph's is better for you. You need to grow up and realize that. If not for yourself, think of those little girls, you need a respectable husband, not some street thug."

"Okay, first off. I broke up with Joe over two months ago when I found out that he was taking a job out of town to work with his former girlfriend and that they were going to be a couple. He's been sleeping with her for two months! Why would I need a man like that? Secondly, I'm not with Ranger like that. We are very good friends. He's been helping me out by driving me around, giving me a place to stay and anything else I might need. I don't understand why you think I need a husband in order to take care of the girls. I have been doing fine without one this long." Steph had to stop and calm down a little, but was quickly loosing the grip on her temper. "I'm going to be working a safer job, with steadier pay and better hours. I'll have a nicer place to live, a housekeeper to cook, clean and do laundry for us. And a flock of babysitters on hand, if I need them, so please tell me why I need Joe to be my husband?"

"He can provide for you. You wouldn't need to work. You can learn to cook and do laundry; you don't need a housekeeper for that. You need a man to look after you. It's the 'burg way. Valerie did it that way, what will the girls think if you don't? How will you raise them to be good 'burg girls if you don't settle down and get married?"

"Haven't you figured out that I'm not Valerie and I'm not the 'burg, that I never will be. Those girls know how I am, Valerie knew how I am. It doesn't seem to bother them. The girls will have a fine life and if they want to be 'burg girls when they grow up, I will not stop them. But, I'll not change myself into something I'm not in order to please you, Joe, the 'burg, or anyone else for that matter. I'll live how I want. I am thirty years old and you can't tell me what to do anymore, so I wish you'd stop trying to run my life. I love you, Mom, but enough is enough. Dickie cheated on me after we married and if I marry Joe, the same thing will happen again and I don't want that kind of a life." She was close to tears and desperately wants this conversation to be over.

"I think you are making a big mistake, if you don't take Joe back now. When you change your mind, it may be too late. Then you'll be left with nothing. No man is going to want to marry a woman who can't cook, take care of a house and already has two girls in tow. He's willing to overlook all that and marries you; don't throw it away."

"Mom, I need to go. I'm sorry you feel this way, but I will not be changing my mind." She got up and headed for the living room. "Goodbye Daddy. Please, tell Grandma to call me when she gets back." And Steph walked out the door, jumped into the Turbo and sped to Haywood Street.

When she arrived back at Rangers apartment, she found him in his office on his laptop. "Hi, Babe. Did you and the Turbo make it back in one piece?" He smiled up at her but then noticed that she didn't return the smile. Then he noticed that she had tear stains on her cheeks.

"Babe, are you okay? You look like you have been crying. Did your mother give you a hard time about Morelli?" Ranger fired the questions at her in rapid succession.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'd rather not talk about my Mother tonight, if that's okay with you." Steph said in a quiet voice, not looking up to meet Ranger's eyes.

"Sure, Babe, whatever you want. I was wondering if you'd like to watch a movie with me."

"Ok, which one."

"I have the new GI Joe movie that just came out. Tank said it was good." He picked up the case he had laying on his desk and showed it to her. That sounds like a plan; I actually wanted to see that one. You put it in and I'll make some popcorn." Steph said before heading towards the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, she was lying with her back against his chest. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and the popcorn rested in her lap. Ranger didn't eat much of it; instead he played with her fingers, then with her curls. Occasionally he kisses her neck or nibbled at her ear. They were both content to just be in the other's arms and each secretly hoped they could stay that way. When the movie ended, they went to bed and continued to hold each other throughout the night.

**Ok here is the next chapter. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I would like to say thank you to my new Beta Reader Angie. You did a great job girl. I am in the process of working on the next chapter. Have a great day….Tracy!**


	11. Chapter 11 Girls Move Into Haywood

**Still don't own them, but I sure am having a good time playing with them. Ranger is a blast! Ella, Mrs. Plum, Joe and the Merry Men will all be making an appearance in this chapter. Thanks everyone for the great reviews and messages. I appreciate it very much. Also, thanks to Angie, the last chapter turned out great. Have a good one. Tracy!**

_**Chapter Eleven "Girls Move Into Haywood"**_

Monday morning, Ranger made sure to wake up early. He had a few things that he needed to check up on, before waking Stephanie. His first stop was up to the fourth floor to see if all of the painting and decorating had been accomplished. He wanted everything to be special for Stephanie and the girls. When he walked in to the apartment, he had to do a double take. Everything was freshly painted and all of the furniture was in its place. The living room was painted an Oyster Shell white; Ella had placed an antique lace throw over the back of the sectional and had matching throw pillows all around. She'd also placed fresh flowers and candles on the end tables. The dining room was done in a café latte color as was the kitchen. Next, he went into the girls' room; Ella had decorated their room in soft violet colors. The walls were painted a Sugared Plum violet with coordinating curtains and bedspreads. Last stop was Stephanie's room. He'd purchased the king size bed and cherry furniture for her room. Ella had chosen the bedspread and drapes, which were an Icy Waterfall blue; in fact the entire room was decorated in varying shades of blue, just as Ranger had specified. This space had a very tranquil, restful feel to it. It was somewhere that he knew Stephanie would be comfortable and he was pleased with Ella's work. She'd done a great job.

He would have never believed that this had once been Lester's apartment, the difference was remarkable. He knew as soon as Steph saw this place, she'd love it; he just hoped she wouldn't be angry and think he'd went overboard. Walking back into the living room, he noticed that the TV, Blue Ray and surround sound were set up, along with a rack of new Disney Blue Ray movies for the girls and a copy of Ghostbusters for Stephanie. Once he left her apartment, he went down to talk to Ella. He wanted her to bake several dozen cookies and have lunch ready for them when they arrived home with the girls. He was going to have all the guys come up to apartment and introduce themselves. He wanted Mary Alice and Angie to be comfortable in their new home and didn't want them to be afraid of the rather large, intimidating men he employed. He knew the guys would adore the girls and do everything in their power to make them feel welcome. Satisfied that everything was in order, he made his way back to seven to wake Stephanie.

When he walked into the room, she was laying on her stomach, her hair fanned out around her on the pillow. She had her left arm and leg hanging off the side of the bed. He was mesmerized by the sight of her and just had to feel her soft skin under his fingers. Quietly, he sat down on the bed. He gently ran his hand up her leg starting at her ankle and following it up to her thigh. She sighed softly, but didn't wake up. Then he slipped his hand under her t-shirt to slide his hand up her back. He lovingly caressed her shoulders, her neck; then leaned down to place a soft kiss below her ear. She stirred in her sleep, flipped to her back and slowing opened her eyes.

"Good morning, Batman." She sleepily greeted him, a smile just touching at her lips.

"Morning, Babe." He whispered before leaning down to place a kiss on her soft lips.

Stephanie pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He quickly took her into his arms and deepened the kiss. His lips left her mouth to blaze a trail of kisses down her neck towards her collar bone. He made the return trip a slow, sensual journey ending when he reached her lips. He knew that they needed to stop before it went too far; she had just broken up with Joe, lost her sister and became a parent to two small girls. Her emotions were all over the place with all the twists and turns her life had taken in the last few days. He didn't want to take advantage of her when she was so vulnerable so he reluctantly pulled back, and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose, before rising to stand next to the bed.

"You need to eat breakfast, Babe and get a shower. As soon as you're ready, we'll head to the hospital and make sure the girls are all set to leave."

* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, a short time later, she mentally groaned at the sight of both her mother and Joe waiting in the girls' room. "Hi mom, I didn't expect to see you this morning," Stephanie said, as she walked over to the girls' beds.

"I came by to help you move the girls to Valerie's house, and I brought Joseph with me to help. That way he can go back to doing, whatever it is that he does." She said pointing at Ranger.

"First off, Mom, Ranger isn't going anywhere. He's here to help me with the girls. I made it very clear to you last night that I did not need any help from you or Joe." She couldn't believe her mother's nerve. "Secondly, I am not moving to Valerie's house. The girls don't want to stay there. We're moving into the fourth floor of Ranger's building; he has a very nice apartment that we'll be renting."

"Stephanie, don't be ridiculous! Why on earth would you want to rent a place, when you have a house that was given to you? You're not making any sense. These girls are too small to making any kind of decision, if you move into that apartment you will be sorry." She was waving her hands around and yelling. "If you don't want to move into Valerie's, then move into Joseph's house, he can take care of you, and you won't even have to pay him rent."

"I am _not_ moving in with Joe, Mom! And I don't have to pay Ranger rent, either. He was going to let us live there for free, but I didn't want to take advantage. Paying rent was my idea. This is my life! I will move where I want to and where the girls will be the happiest."

"If you move into that apartment, Stephanie, and sell your sister's house, I will not be coming to visit you. I'll not step foot on that…that…thug's property." She had her finger pointing at Ranger again.

Ranger was about to say something, but Steph shook her head at him, then asking him with her eyes to just let her handle this. "If that's how you feel, Mother, than that's the way it will have to be. I've already sold the house; all I to do is clean it out. It'll be your loss, if you don't visit the girls, not mine. I think it would be best if you and Joe leave now. I don't want to talk anymore about this in front of the girls."

"Cupcake, be reasonable, he only wants you to move in there for one reason. When he gets what he's after and tires of you, he'll kick you all out and then where will you be? Come home with me. I'll take care of you and the girls."

"No thanks, Joe. I'm able to take care of myself and the girls; I don't need any help from you." Stephanie chose to ignore the part about Ranger; she couldn't bring herself to dignify that insult with a comment.

"Whatever Cupcake, but when he kicks all of you out don't come crying to me. When I walk out the door this time, it's for good."

"I already told you, two months ago, Joe that we were done and nothing has changed on my end."

The nurse walked into the room. "This is a hospital. You need to keep your voices down. I'm going to ask you both to step out into the hall." She said in a stern voice, while looking at Helen and Joe. The nurse added, "The girls need to get ready so they can go home." She waited until they walked out the door, before she too left the room.

After everyone had left, Stephanie went into the girls' bathroom and closed the door. She was in there for several minutes before she came out.

"You okay, Babe?" Ranger asked when he noticed that she had been crying.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just can't believe the nerve of them both. What makes them think that they can control my life and then threaten me? I'm just sorry that you had to witness it." Stephanie said as more tears made their way down her cheeks.

"Don't worry about it, Babe, I'm not. I think the girls are all ready to go. You just have to sign the papers then we can head over to Haywood and get all of you settled in." Ranger spoke in an easy tone, while rubbing Stephanie's back in a comforting gesture.

"Sorry about that, girls. You know I didn't mean to ruin your day." Stephanie gave the girls a watery smile and bent to give each of them a kiss on their foreheads.

"It's okay, Aunt Steph, to tell you the truth it was kind of funny. I'm glad you told Joe off and that we don't have to move into his house. I never liked him much anyway." Mary Alice said and Angie nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you're happy with the arrangements. Now, let's blow this joint and go home." Stephanie signed the discharge papers, helped Angie into her wheelchair and together they headed out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, they were in the parking garage at Haywood. Ranger came around to open Stephanie's door before doing the same to the backdoor for the girls. He helped Mary Alice out first, making sure she was steady on her walking cast before letting go of her and turning to assist her sister. He placed the wheelchair in front of the door and helped Angie into it. Then he turned back to Stephanie. "Babe, here is a key fob for you. I had the control room make you a duplicate of mine. It'll give you access to the entire building. I want you to use it now, so we can make sure it's working properly." He explained as he handed it to her.

When they arrived on four, she pointed the fob at the door and heard the lock click. Before she could enter Ranger placed his hand gently on her shoulder causing her to stop and send a questioning look in his direction. He told all three of them to close their eyes. Once they'd done that, he pushed the door open and led them inside. When they were all in, Ranger shut the door quietly and told them they could open their eyes. As soon as they did, they were greeted with several voices yelling, "Welcome Home!"

One by one, the men walked up to them and shook the girls' hands and introduced themselves. Among the men were Lester, Tank, Bobby, Hector, Cal, Ram, Manny and Woody. When they were done Ella stepped up to the girls. "Hi girls my name is Ella; I'm the housekeeper here at Rangeman. I'll be cleaning your apartment, doing the laundry and all of the cooking. Whenever you girls are hungry, just let me know and I will bring you something. If you have a favorite food you like, I will make it for you. Stephanie is easy to cook for; she really likes her sweets." Ella finished and casting a warm smile to the girls and a wink at Stephanie.

"Hi Ella My favorite foods are pizza and spaghetti. And I love chocolate cake." Mary Alice said with excitement in her voice.

"Hi Ella I like pizza, tacos and hamburgers. My favorite sweet is chocolate chip cookies." Angie gave her list and a little giggle.

"Well, girls, you're in luck, those just happen to be my specialties. And Angie, I just happen to have one of your favorites ready now." Ranger walked over and handed her the plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"If any of you are hungry, we have ham and cheese sandwiches, chips, potato salad and pop in the kitchen and of course, more cookies." As soon as she said that all the Merry Men were heading straight for the food.

"Babe, why don't you and the girls go have a seat in the living room. I'll make all of you a plate and bring it in to you."

"Thanks, Ranger," she smiled at him and pushed Angie over to the coffee table.

After he'd brought their plates, he went to fix himself one then took a seat next to Stephanie on the couch. They spent the whole afternoon talking, laughing and watching movies. Tank, Lester, and Bobby stayed and played a game of Monopoly with the girls. Around eight o'clock, Stephanie noticed that both girls were yawing a lot and decided that they needed to get some rest.

Ranger led them to their rooms and repeated the same routine from earlier. "Close your eyes; we have another surprise for you."

The girls did as they were asked. When they were inside the room, they were told to open their eyes. Both girls had shocked expressions on their faces. On each side of the room was a canopy bed, a nightstand and a lamp that complimented the room. Between the beds a dresser sat with a brand new TV and Blue Ray player sitting on top. The girls gave Stephanie a big hug and thanked her. "Don't thank me, girls, I had nothing to do with this. He's the one that deserves the thanks." She said motioning to Ranger.

He was shaking his head 'no', but both girls told him thanks and gave him a hug. Then each went to their own bed, Angie needed help getting into hers. Once they had their medicine, Stephanie handed them the remote and closed the door.

Ranger took Stephanie's hand and led her to her bedroom. When they arrived at the door, he placed his hands over her eyes. He walked them over to stand in front of the bed then lifted his hands letting them slide to rest on her shoulders. She was shocked speechless. There was a new bed and matching dresser, Ella had all her clothes hung in the walk-in closet, and she also had a new flat panel television mounted on the wall. Ranger gently pushed her onto the bed. She crawled into the center and lay down. He crawled in beside her, took her into his arms and spooned her with his body. They lay that way for a long time, just holding each other. After a while, Ranger broke the silence. "Babe, I'm glad you decided to live here, but I'm going to miss having you stay in my apartment. I like lying in bed with you holding you, that's what I'm going to miss most."

"I will too, Ranger. It's nice to have someone to spend time with and talk to at the end of the day. I've never had that before." She snuggled farther into his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. They quietly talked and laughed. She told him stories about some of the skips she went after while he was in the wind, they talked about what her mother had said last night at dinner, and they talked about what happened today at the hospital. She finally fell asleep, around midnight, happy and content listening to the beat of his heart.

Once Stephanie was asleep, Ranger knew he should head back to his place, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her yet. He set his watch for five a.m. and decided to hold the woman in his arms as long as he could. He didn't know when he'd have the chance to do it again.

**Okay. Hope I did this chapter justice. The girls have met the Merry Men and are now safe and sound at Haywood. What's next for Steph, Ranger and the girls? Stay tuned to find out!!! **


	12. Chapter 12 Girls Night In

**I don't own them, oh how I wish I did. If only for a day! I would take Ranger all around my town and show him the sites, oh who am I trying to kid, he wouldn't be leaving the house. Or more specifically one room in the house. Oh well enough of my fantasy. Another chapter is coming your way. Thanks to Angie for all her hard work as my Beta Reader, and thanks for all the great reviews. Tracy!**

_**Chapter Twelve "Girls Night In"**_

It has been two weeks since 'move in day' at Haywood, everything was going pretty well. Angie was still in her wheelchair, and she couldn't wait until she was able to walk again. Mary Alice was getting along really well with her walking cast. All three of them were starting to have cabin fever. Ranger won't let any of them raise a finger, Ella took care of the house, food, and did the shopping, if they want something that wasn't in the apartment, he either sent one of the guys to get it, or he'd get it himself. Lester had been coming over and spending time with the girls, he brought them pizza and movies almost every night. They played a lot of board games together, he told them when they had their casts removed he was getting them Guitar Hero. For a man that wanted to live in his own house, he sure spent a lot of time in his old apartment. One night, he even fell asleep on the floor.

Tonight, Stephanie was putting her foot down, if they couldn't go out and have some fun; the fun would have to come to them. She hadn't seen any of her girlfriends since her sister's funeral and she really miss them. She loved spending time with Ranger and the guys, but every once in a while a woman just need some 'girl time'. First step was to call Mary Lou, Lula, and Connie to make sure they can make it. Once she'd done that, then she called the most important person and asked for her help.

She picked up on the first ring. "Hello, Ella, it's Stephanie. I was wondering if you could help me out."

"Sure, Stephanie, whatever you need, I'll be glad to help you." Her voice was cheerful as always.

"I haven't seen my girlfriends for a while and I've invited them over tonight at six. I wondered if you could make up some party food for us, and maybe pick up some ice cream. I know Lula loves chicken wings, Connie is into enchiladas and Mary Lou loves chili dogs. I'll order me and the girls a pizza. Could you also grab us a case of beer and a case of Mt. Dew? I think that should tide us over."

"Sure, that's no problem, Stephanie; I'll have it up to your apartment by six." She said and hung up.

Once that was taken care of, Stephanie had one more thing to handle, and that was the guys. Speaking of the guys, when she walked into the living room, they were sitting everywhere watching a movie and playing cards. "Doesn't anyone work around here anymore? I may have moved in here, but I didn't take all of you to raise." Four sets of eyes looked up at her, stopping mid-stream in what they were doing.

"I'm sorry to inform all of you, but the girls and I are having a party tonight and none of you are invited. You'll just have to go elsewhere for your entertainment this evening." Stephanie laughed when she saw the sad puppy dog eyes that greeted her statement.

"What kind of a party, Babe?" Ranger stood up and walked over to her.

"Nothing major, Batman. I invited the girls over tonight to hang out. I haven't seen any of them since Val died and I miss them. I love spending time with you and the guys, but I deserve a 'Girls Night In'. Ella's agreed to make us some party food!"

"Girls' Night In', Babe?" He asked with his lips twitching up in an almost smile.

"Yeah, since the girls are too young to go to a bar, and we aren't allowed out, we're bringing the party in."

"I see. What time does this 'Girls Night In' start?" His eyebrow raised in question.

"Six o'clock. Let the guys in the control room know that Connie, Lula and Mary Lou will be coming by about that time, okay?"

"Sure Babe. No problem. Since it's only noon and I won't get to spend the evening with you, I want to take just you to lunch. I know you haven't been out of the apartment once in the last couple of weeks. I know how 'crazy' you get when you have to stay inside. How about we have the guys stay here for a couple of hours and keep the girls entertained. Ella can bring their lunch to them here."

"Ranger, you had me at the word lunch. I'd love to go with you. Let me grab my purse and tell the girls I'm leaving."

"Sure, Babe, while you do that I need to run up to seven and change. I'll meet you by the elevator in ten." He brushed a quick kiss to her forehead then he walked out the door.

* * *

Ranger took Stephanie to a new Mexican restaurant that had just opened last week. The restaurant was already receiving great reviews. Stephanie was in heaven, just from the smell of the food, she couldn't wait to give it a try. The only problem was when she opened the menu it was entirely wrote in Spanish. She cast a quizzical look at Ranger, who laughed softly then agreed to order for her. She was secretly hoping she was going to like whatever he ordered, though she didn't say anything out loud, she trusted him and didn't want to hurt his feelings. After all, he'd brought her to the restaurant and he knew her eating habits well, so she was sure everything would be great!

The waitress came back to the table with two 'Mexican Mojitos' for them, and then an appetizer platter of Empanadas. Ranger surprised Stephanie when he told her how his grandma would make Empanadas at every family dinner and that they were one of his favorites. His mother would even save some back for him and pack them in his lunchbox for school the next day.

When the waitress arrived back at the table a few minutes later with their entrees, Stephanie had to admit everything looked good. Ranger had a plate of Mahi Mahi grilled in a red chili sauce and was served with a side of Tequila lime chili sauce for dipping. Stephanie had a plate of three bacon wrapped shrimp and Carne Asada steak medallions topped with a hot pepper sauce. Both orders came with a side of cilantro lime rice, spicy Mexican corn, and jalapeno corn bread. Ranger had done an excellent job with ordering, the flavors absolutely exploded in Stephanie's mouth. Of course, when Stephanie was thoroughly enjoying her food, it always resulted in expressing her pleasure through moans. Apparently, she was _really _enjoying this meal, because when she looked up she saw several sets of eyes staring at her, including one pair of obsidian black eyes. "Babe, you're killing me here." Ranger said, with his lips twitching up into a smile.

"Batman, this is the best Mexican food I have ever had. We need to get the recipes and have Ella make this for us at home." She said taking another big bite and moaning.

"Babe, I don't know if I could handle you moaning like this all the time, at least when we're not in the bedroom." He said with his wolf grin in place, as Stephanie turned an interesting shade of pink.

After they'd finished dinner, Stephanie received another surprise when the waitress brought out a plate of dessert for them to share. It was a Kahlua ice cream pie. A chocolate crust filled with coffee ice cream, chocolate pieces and a layer of dark chocolate topped off with Kahlua cream. She was thinking that this was even better than Tiramisu. She had a mini-orgasm when Ranger leaned over the table and licked the cream from her lips before capturing them in a long, slow and deep passionate kiss. When the need to breath became a necessity, he reluctantly pulled back. When the dessert was finished, he paid the bill, took her hand and led her to the Turbo. He handed her inside the car, then leaned in to fasten her seatbelt. Once the task was complete, he drug his body across hers, stopping to place a gentle loving kiss to her lips before shutting the door and going around to the driver's side.

"It's almost four now, Babe. I should probably get you back so you have time to get everything ready for tonight." He said once he was behind the wheel and pulling out of the parking lot, even though he wasn't really ready to take her back just yet.

"Yeah, and I probably need to check on the girls, make sure they don't need any medicine for pain." Wishing she hadn't made other plans and could just spend the day with him. Especially after how nice he had been taking her to lunch, and then after all those kisses he'd given her, well he had her in quite a 'state'.

When they arrived back at Haywood, they took the elevator up to the fourth floor. Standing in front of her door, he pulled her into his arms. "I had a really nice time today, Steph." She started to reply, but he leaned down and kissed her. They stayed that way until the door was thrown open and Lester was standing on the other side. "Alright, knock it off, what kind of example is this setting for the kids?" Lester busted out into laughter laughing when Ranger shot him a dirty, menacing look; he was not intimidated in the least at his boss' displeasure for being interrupted.

"If you would have kept the door closed, Santos, they wouldn't have seen us. Did you ever think of that?" Rangers replied sarcastically.

"Sorry, Boss!" Santos said as he tried to get a handle of his laughing fit.

Ranger released Stephanie and she walked into her apartment. Once she made sure the girls were okay, she told the guys 'thanks' and they left. "I had a nice time today, Ranger," she told him as he leaned against the doorframe. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. A few moments later, they took a step back, breaking the embrace.

Ranger tucked one of Stephanie's curls behind her ear before he said in a quiet voice, "Have fun tonight Babe and I'll see you later." He pressed a small kiss to her lips then turned and walked back to the elevator.

At five thirty, Ella arrived with a cart full of dishes, each piled high with food and several containers of ice cream, cookies, a case of Corona and a case of Mt. Dew. Ella also had a package of paper plates, disposable silverware and napkins. She placed plastic table clothes on the bar area and the dining room table. She put out all the food on the bar and stored the drinks in the refrigerator. "I called Pino's and ordered your pizza; Ram will bring it up when it arrives. Ranger took care of paying, so don't worry about that." Ella asked Stephanie if there was anything else she needed before she told her to have fun tonight and that she'd see her tomorrow morning with breakfast.

Stephanie thought about calling Ranger to complain about paying for the pizza, but decided against it. She knew it wouldn't do any good anyway. Ranger liked to take care of her and pay for things. She decided just to go along with it and let him have his fun. Steph had just finished getting herself and the girls ready when the intercom buzzed; she walked over and pressed the button. "Ms. Plum, two of your guests have arrived. Should I send them up now?" Ram said in way of a greeting.

"Yes, thank you, Ram." Stephanie replied.

A couple minutes later there was a knock at the door; Stephanie opened it to find Lula and Connie. Connie was holding three pizza boxes. "Here let me take those for you, come on in while I put these in the kitchen."

"White Girl, Batman done put your ass up in a fine looking place, you should have moved out of that dump you lived in a long time ago. You have done gone and turned into Cinderella." Lula told her while checking out the apartment. "Hi, girls, I'm Lula and this here is Connie. We work with your Aunt Stephanie at the bonds office. She was my sidekick, but now she's gonna go off and leave me to work with Joyce's ass."

"Lula, watch your language. I try not to cuss in front of the girls." Stephanie scolded in a voice that would do any mother proud.

"Sorry White Girl, I'll try harder. Ain't gonna be easy though." Lula informed all of them.

"Why don't you girls have a seat, Mary Lou is running behind. Can I get you a Corona?" Stephanie asked them both. When they nodded, she went to the kitchen and got three bottles of Corona and two cans of Mt. Dew for the girls.

While they waited for Mary Lou, Connie and Lula filled her in on what had been happening down at the bonds office, and all about Joyce, Vinnie and his duck, keeping the talk 'G' rated since Angie and Mary Alice were among the party goers. "White Girl, the place ain't been the same without you, there ain't been one thing blow up in weeks."

"I do miss both you girls, but I can honestly say I don't miss getting kidnapped, blown up, or rolling around in garbage every day." Stephanie told them both while Angie and Mary Alice looked on with shocked expressions on their faces. Finally at six-thirty, Mary Lou arrived. "Sorry, I'm late, Steph. The boys were acting up and Lenny didn't want to deal with them. I swear men can be such babies."

"No problem, we were just catching up on work things anyway. Now that you're here, we can eat, then watch movies, listen to music, talk, play games, or give each other facials, whatever we want to do."

They decided to eat first, and then give each other facials. They even gave Angie and Mary Alice facials and manicures. Then they watched two movies, the girls were Harry Potter fans and since Connie had never seen it, they watched the latest episode. After that was done, they watched 'The Proposal' with Sandra Bullock. They finished off all the Coronas, all the pizza and most of the ice cream. It was eleven o'clock before they knew it. Just as Stephanie got up to take the trash to the kitchen she heard a knock at her door. When she opened it, she was surprised to find Ranger, Tank, Bobby and Lester on the other side. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked as she stepped aside to let them into the apartment.

"Well, Babe, I just finished up all the paperwork that was piled on my desk and these misfits were just finishing up their shift. We were bored, so we thought we'd come by and see how it was going up here."

"We're having a nice time; we all got caught up on the latest gossip, ate until our eyes popped out and watched a couple movies." Stephanie told them

Ranger took her hand and led her to the couch, then pulled her into his lap. Tank sat next to Lula. Bobby sat by Connie. Lester went over and sat between the girls, leaving Mary Lou to sit alone. "Babe, Lester brought the Disney DVD 'Seen It' game and thought we could all play. He figured you girls have seen all the Disney movies. We thought we could pair off in teams. Or would you rather us leave?"

"No, I don't mind if you guys stay. We got to hang out and catch up; I'm fine with it if everyone else is." When the rest of the girls agreed, Lester went to set up the DVD. Lester paired up with Mary Lou, so that Angie and Mary Alice could be partners.

After two hours of playing, Angie and Mary Alice were declared the winners, with Lester and Mary Lou second, Ranger and Steph third, Connie and Bobby fourth, and Tank and Lula dead last. When the game was put away, it was time for the girls to get ready for bed. The party broke up pretty quickly after that, leaving just Ranger and Stephanie alone in the living room. Ranger had volunteered to stay and help with clean-up duty.

"Ranger, you don't need to help me. I was just going to put all the trash in bags and put Ella's dishes in the dishwasher. She will be by in the morning to finish up with the rest."

"It's no problem, Babe. Besides, I like hanging out here with you." Ranger used his thumb to tilt her chin up to receive his kiss.

After the trash was gathered up and the dishes were stored in the dishwasher, Stephanie and Ranger curled up together on the sofa. She was lying across his chest and he had his arms around her waist. He pulled her hair over to one side, to allow him to place soft kisses down her neck. They talked about his evening and then hers up until he arrived; they talked about how much they enjoyed spending time together. Before she fell asleep, Stephanie was thinking that the evening had been pretty close to perfect, and that she should do a 'Girls Night In', more often. They fell asleep together on the couch wrapped in each other's arms. A perfect ending to a perfect day!


	13. Chapter 13 Dr Visit and Point Pleasant

**Still just playing with Ranger, I mean all of them. Hope I am still doing alright, and headed in the direction all of you were hoping. If you have any comments or advice let me know. Thanks to all of you have read it, and stuck with me. I promise this will be finished, I won't leave ya hanging. Thanks to Angie, for all of her hard work, I think she has done an excellent job. Please let me know what you think. Have a great day. Tracy! **

_**Chapter Thirteen "Dr. Visit and Point Pleasant"**_

Today was the day that the girls had been looking forward to for the last six weeks. Today, they were finally going to have their casts removed. And Angie would no longer need her wheelchair.

"Aunt Steph, once we finish at the doctor's can we go somewhere? I just want to be outside for a while. I like your apartment and hanging out with the guys, especially Lester, but I have been in that wheelchair so long, I just want to take a walk and enjoy the sunshine." Angie said in a hopeful voice.

"Sure, sweetheart, where do you want to go?" Stephanie was happy to see the young girl eager to get out.

"I really don't care, Aunt Steph, wherever we go is fine with me." Angie replied, while Mary Alice smiled quietly.

"I have an idea, Babe, if it suits you and the girls. I know how you like the beach and it would be the perfect place for Angie to walk. I could have Ella fix us some food and we could picnic. How does Point Pleasant sound?" Ranger asked as he was looking at all of them.

"Sounds fine with me Batman, what do you think, girls?" Stephanie wanted to make sure it was alright with them, and let them make the final choice.

"Perfect," both of them said in unison.

"Okay then, let's head to your room and pack both of you a swimsuit, towel, hairbrush, and sunscreen. Then, once we leave the doctor's office, there will be no need to come back here." Stephanie told the girls, already walking towards their bedroom.

"While you take care of that, Babe, I'm going to go talk to Ella. Do you girls want anything special to eat?" Ranger knelt down in front of the girls; he reached out ruffling the top of their heads.

They both told him 'no', and he turned to see if Stephanie wanted to make a request. "Babe, you want Ella to make you anything special?"

"You know what I like, Batman. Surprise me." She said in her sweetest Jersey girl voice.

"Babe," Ranger shook his head and walked out of the apartment.

Thirty minutes later, lunch was fixed, the duffle bags were packed, and everyone was piled in the SUV. The atmosphere, on the ride to the doctor's office, had a palpable feeling of excitement. The thought of getting rid of the casts and being able to enjoy some of the summer had the girls giddy, they where bouncing in their seats. Ranger didn't seem to mind the girls' endless chatter or their inability to sit still. They were a lot like their aunt in that regard, so he'd had plenty of practice with her over the last couple years.

The past week had been really tough on Mary Alice. When Stephanie called to check on her riding lessons, they said if she missed her first practice, they would fill her spot. Stephanie had tried to explain the cast would be off the following week, but the stables told her that, that was their policy and they were unable to alter it. So, riding lessons had to be canceled for the summer.

When they arrived at the doctor's office, Ranger sat with the girls while Stephanie went and checked them in. Stephanie hoped that the wait wouldn't be too long, so that they could be on their way. She was looking forward to going to the beach. She hadn't been to Point Pleasant in over a year, and that was for 4th of July celebration. Valerie and Albert had just gotten married and wanted to have a cookout on the beach and watch the fireworks. Stephanie had asked Ranger to go with her, because her and Joe had been in the 'off again' section of their relationship. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt Ranger's thumb on her cheek, wiping away a tear.

"You okay, Babe? Do you want to go back home when we leave here?" Ranger spoke quietly, concern lacing his voice, and the emotion visible in his eyes.

"No, Batman, I'm fine. I was just thinking about the last time I was at Point Pleasant; remember when my sister invited everyone for the cookout on the 4th of July? I miss her and doing things with her. I want to go today. Have a good time and start making new memories; besides I haven't gotten to wear my new swimsuit, yet." Stephanie said with a wicked expression on her face.

"Babe" He gave the full wolf- grin and brushed his lips to her temple.

Two hours later, both girls were finally given a clean bill of health and were able to walk out on their own feet.

"Wow, I never thought I would like walking so much, I sure have missed it. I can't wait to get to the beach." Angie was hopping up and down, truly happy with her new 'freedom'.

"Don't tell Ranger how much you like to walk; he'll have you out running with him in the morning." Steph teased Angie, while glancing sideways at Ranger as he got into the SUV.

"I heard that, Babe. I can stop by, at five, tomorrow morning to make you run." He threatened and flashed her, his trademark 200 watt smile.

"Right, when pigs fly, Batman. I'm still not officially working for you yet, so you can't make me run." She looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, but I can, Babe. Officially, since you live in my building, you're an employee. All employees must exercise; it's in the job description." Ranger had his eyebrow raised and his lips were twitching with the beginnings of a smile.

"I, unlike your employees, pay rent. So, technically it's my place, I get to make the rules and I say, NO!" She was grinning when she said it, but tried to sound menacing, mocking Ranger's earlier tone.

The rest of the trip was done in silence, as Stephanie and the girls fell asleep. They woke when Ranger pulled the SUV to a stop in a parking spot near the shore.

"This looks like the perfect spot. Let's set up the picnic here. There's a bath house over there for you three to go change. While you do that, I'll set up the food." Ranger said, while pointing to a small building at the other side of the parking lot.

Ranger stood up and took his sunglasses off when he seen Stephanie walking across the beach towards him. In his opinion, she had never looked more beautiful. She was wearing a hot pink Victoria Secret push-up tankini that had ties on the sides; her hair was swept up high on top of her head in ponytail. She had a hot pink flower clip, that match her suit, holding her hair in place. The outfit was completed by hot pink sandals on her feet.

"Wow, Babe. You look absolutely stunning." Ranger told her when she came to a stop in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist drawing her into him, and whispered in her ear. "Babe, you're killing me. I don't know if I will be able to keep my hands off of you all day." He placed a loving kiss to her neck, before releasing her.

"Thanks, Batman. I'd hoped you would like it, and I don't remember saying, I wanted you to keep your hands to yourself." She tossed over her shoulder as she walked off to check on the girls.

They sat down on the picnic blanket Ranger had placed in the sand, and proceeded to eat the lunch Ella had prepared. She had made them ham and cheese sandwiches, homemade potato salad, macaroni salad, a pitcher of ice tea, and a batch of homemade double chocolate fudge brownies for dessert. Stephanie was surprised when Ranger even ate a brownie.

"I figured, since I was on the beach, the temple could take a day off, Babe." Ranger responded to Stephanie, as she tried to raise an eyebrow at him, but failed miserably.

When they'd finished eating, the girls went to the water's edge to play in the sand, while Stephanie and Ranger lay down on a blanket. Ranger reached over and took Stephanie hand in his and entwined their fingers. They laid that way for a time, and then Ranger couldn't help himself, and reach over and ran just his fingertips along Stephanie's stomach. He smiled when he saw her muscles twitch, and felt a shutter that went through her. Since she didn't pull away, he moved his hand up her stomach, across her chest, and up to caress her neck and face. He cupped her cheek in his hand and slowly leaned into her, placing a kiss to her lips. He was just about to back away when Stephanie wrapped her arm around his neck, and then reached out with her hand to pull the leather strap from his hair. He adjusted himself, so that he was laying half across her, with one knee between her thighs and deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into her warm, soft mouth. They stayed that way for several moments, until the sound of distant laughter made them break apart.

"Boss, I told you the last time I caught you in a compromising position, it wasn't setting a good example for the children." Lester could barely contain his laughter at catching the boss yet again in a lip lock with Stephanie.

"Santos, what the hell are you doing here? Don't you have work to do?" Ranger was giving him a death glare and the tone of his voice had Stephanie worried.

"All done for the day, boss, Tank told me you all were heading out here. I wanted to hang out on the beach with the girls so I drove over."

"Fine, since you're here can you keep an eye on the girls? I want to take Steph for a walk on the beach." Ranger stood up in one fluid motion, he grabbed Stephanie's hand to pull her up from the blanket.

"Sure boss, no problem. I…," Lester stopped mid-sentence when Stephanie rose to stand next to Ranger. "Wow, Beautiful that is some bathing suit!" Lester told her, while waging his eyebrows up and down, "Maybe you and I could go for a walk instead."

"SANTOS, put your eyes back in your head, and go play the girls." Ranger barked, clearly unhappy with Lester trying to change the plans.

"Right no problem." Lester said and then winked at Stephanie before walking off to join Mary Alice and Angie.

"Babe, would you like to go for a walk?" Ranger turned to Stephanie, pushed an escapee curl behind her ear.

"I would love to, Batman." Stephanie smiled at him, and took the hand he was offering her.

Once they had walked a couple miles up the beach, Ranger led her over to a large rock, he sat down on it, and pulled her up to set between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her waist and then took her hands in his again.

"Babe, the reason I wanted to take you away for a while, was so I could have you alone, I need to talk to you." Ranger spoke quietly, resting his chin on her right shoulder.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Ranger?" Stephanie asked him, as she stared out at the peaceful ocean before them.

"Babe, I wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed these last few weeks. I've liked being able to spend with you, without having to worry about work, chasing FTA's, you getting hurt, kidnapped, or a car blowing up." Ranger paused for a moment before continuing. "I want you to know that I'd like this to continue." He finished quietly, anxiously waiting to see how she'd take his declaration.

"Of course, you can come up to the apartment anytime, you know that." Stephanie squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I appreciate that, Babe, but that wasn't exactly what I meant. I know these last few weeks have been difficult for you, breaking up with Joe, losing your sister and brother-in-law, taking on the responsibility of two small children, and then the hard time your mother has given you. I don't want to put any extra pressure on you or rush you, Babe. But, these last few weeks have made me realize that there's more to life than work." Ranger let out a breath and seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. Stephanie felt the best course of action was to keep quiet until he'd said everything he wanted to say. His voice was slow and a little unsteady as he continued. "Spending time with you and the girls, watching movies, playing games, or just hanging out with you on the couch, I have never really done any of those things before. I didn't realize that I even wanted to until now. Babe, I love being with you and the girls. I miss you so much when I go up to seven at night alone. I love holding you in my arms, going to sleep next to you and waking up with you in the morning. I miss it when you're not there. What I am trying to say, Babe, is I want to ask you if you'd consider a relationship with me?" He stopped and waited for her answer, she hadn't moved a muscle the whole time he'd been talking.

"Ranger, I enjoy all of those things, too. Some of the best times in my life happen when I'm with you. I've never felt as safe in anyone else's arms, as I do yours. You've become so important to me. I'd love to have a relationship with you. I've wanted one for the longest time, but after that night at my apartment, and the 'no relationship' speech, I was convinced it wouldn't happen. I told myself we'd always be just good friends, nothing more." Her voice cracked with the effort of holding back the tears that were trying to break loose.

"Thank you, Babe. I was afraid I had ruined my chances with you and a friendship was all you wanted. We need to make sure that the girls are okay with this, too. They're a big part of your life now, and they need to be comfortable with 'us'. I'd love for all of us to take some time to settle into a life together, go do fun things like this, maybe travel. I've decided not to go back to work for a while. My government contract is up, and Tank can run Rangeman. I'd like to just concentrate on us for a while." He was holding his breath, hoping she would be okay with his plans.

"Are you sure, Ranger? I don't want you to put your job on hold for me and the girls, you've worked hard to make your company a success and I know how important it is to you. I also know you love the thrill you get chasing the FTA's and going out on jobs." She was scared he would regret his choice, and then resent her because of it.

"Babe, if I wasn't sure I wouldn't have suggested it. You're more important to me than my job. I've spent my entire adult life in the Army and building up Rangeman. I'm thirty now and have never taken more than a week or two off since I was eighteen. The only time I get away from Jersey is to check on another Rangeman or go 'in the wind'. I want to just be able to relax for a while and enjoy life,…my life with you. I'd like you and the girls to come down to Miami with me. I haven't got to spend much time with Julie and seeing you with the girls, well I regret that I've never made time like I should. I think the girls and Julie would get along. We could stay at my beach house in Miami; it has eight bedrooms and a housekeeper, so there'd be plenty of room. We could just relax, enjoy the beach and take the time to build a solid relationship between ourselves and the girls." Ranger explained to her in a soft voice.

"Oh, Ranger, I'd love to do all those things with you. It would be great to get to know Julie better. I just want you to be happy. I don't want you to resent me or regret your decision later." Stephanie couldn't believe that this man loved her so much that he was willing to take her and her two nieces into his quiet, peaceful, organized life.

"I could never resent you, Babe. I'll never regret spending time with you." He gently turned her in his arms and placed his lips on hers in a sweet, powerful kiss. When he pulled back, he placed his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes.

"I think we should head back and talk to the kids about our plans; if they agree then I will call Julie, to let her know our plans to come to Miami." Stephanie agreed, Ranger helped her up, took her hand and they made their way back down the beach, to the girls and towards their future.


	14. Chapter 14Perfect?

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. Thanks to Angie for all the hard work, and your advice on this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. Hope you enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone.**

_**Chapter Fourteen "Perfect?"**_

Ranger has spent every day and night with Stephanie and the girls over the last month. Ranger and Stephanie went to sleep wrapped in each other's arms at night and woke up in the morning still entwined together. They had not made love though, they'd decided that day at the beach, that they would take their relationship one day at a time. They both had a failed marriage under their belts and the last thing they wanted to do was mess up what was between them.

Things started out great when Ranger and Stephanie told the girls about their new relationship. The girls seemed excited about having both a mother and father figure around, and that there was always someone around, the girls would never have to be alone. That was until a few weeks later, when Ranger told them he wanted to take everyone to Miami to spend some time with Julie. As soon as he said that, Angie and Mary Alice ran off to their bedroom, slamming their door behind them, leaving a very confused Stephanie and Ranger seated on the couch. Stephanie rose to go confront the girls, but was stopped by Ranger gently tugging on her hand. He pulled her back into her previous position with his arm draped over her shoulders and her head resting against his chest.

"Babe, I think you should give them a little time to deal with this. Let them sleep on it. We can talk to them in the morning, I'm sure things will be better then." He quietly spoke into her hair.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. It has been an awful lot for them to digest." Stephanie sighed and reached down to clasp Ranger's warm hand.

"Come on, Babe, how about a movie before we go to bed? We'll discuss the girls' behavior and possible solutions tomorrow over breakfast. Okay?"

Stephanie nodded her agreement and Ranger kissed the top of her head, before grabbing the remote to surf the endless movie channels.

* * *

Unsure what had caused her to wake up; Stephanie took inventory of her surroundings. Ranger was pressed tightly against her back, glancing at the clock she knew it wasn't the alarm, she reached for her cell phone and found she hadn't missed any calls. She lay there for a few minutes just listening, when she didn't hear anything she turned over and tried to go back to sleep, but the uneasy feeling just wouldn't go away. As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed, made her way down the hall and opened the girls' bedroom door. She flipped on the light, and what she saw made her freeze in her tracks. Both beds were empty; the bathroom light was on revealing it was empty as well. Quickly she turned and ran out of the room. She frantically searched the rest of the apartment, when she found it empty; she raced back to her bedroom

"Ranger, wake up!" She shook his shoulder rather roughly.

"Babe, what's the matter? Are you okay?" He sat straight up in bed, instantly alert.

"No, Ranger, the girls are missing! I have searched the whole apartment! Where could they be?" Stephanie's voice was rising with hysteria.

"Babe, calm down. They couldn't get too far, the building is completely monitored. I'll call down to five, Lester's working, and I'll get a report from him." Ranger gave Stephanie's hand a reassuring squeeze, before picking up his cell.

While he was on the phone with Lester, Stephanie grabbed her own cell phone to check for any messages again. It was then that she noticed her purse was missing from the nightstand; she went in search of her handbag and found it on the kitchen counter. When she looked inside, she immediately realized that all of her keys and her key fob were missing. She headed back into the bedroom to tell Ranger, just as he was ending his call.

"Ranger, the girls took my keys! What did Lester say?" The panic in her voice was a tangible thing.

"Babe, we figured they had your fob. At 0500, the monitors in the stairwell were scrambled, followed by the garage cameras, and then someone exited the emergency door on the garage level. Lester figured we wanted some privacy and that we'd left for a run. He didn't check it out since only our key fobs are capable of scrambling the security. The cameras automatically come back on after ten minutes, when they did, the stairwell and garage were empty." Ranger gave her the report; he'd just received from Lester. "I have already sent out three teams to start looking for the girls. Lester's going out as soon as Bobby takes over the monitors. Lester feels really bad knowing the girls got past him on his watch. Stephanie, you need to start making calls to anybody you think of that the girls might run to and let those people know the girls are missing. It would probably be a good idea to give Morelli a call as well. I know you won't want to, but you should let your parents know about this, do you think girls might turn to them?"

"Okay, I don't think they would be at my parents. They knew about our disagreement and they were unhappy with them about the house. I'll make the calls and then if no one has heard anything, I'm going to go look for them myself. I just can't stand around here waiting, and doing nothing."

"I figured that, Babe. When you're done making your phone calls, we'll head out together and start looking. I don't want you to go by yourself." Ranger wrapped her in his arms, gave her a tender hug and kiss before releasing her. He told her to come to the control room when she was ready to leave. He left the apartment and headed down to five to get an update on status of the search.

Stephanie called everyone she could think of and no one had seen the girls. When she called Joe, he told her they could place an Amber Alert for the girls, but it was too early to file a missing person report. The Amber Alert would be broadcast over all the local radio stations, television stations and on the electronic highway signs. Stephanie was so worried about the girls, she didn't care that the entire Trenton area would soon know the girls had ran away from her. She couldn't put off the call to her parents after speaking with Joe, the 'burg grapevine would be a fury of activity in mere seconds. Of course, her mother refused to speak to her, but her father said he would let her know if he heard anything or if they showed up there. Reports from the Trenton PD and Rangeman employees came in at the top of every hour, and so far no one had any information. Finally, after they had been combing the area around Haywood Street for nearly four hours, Stephanie had an idea.

"Ranger, I can't believe no one has thought to check their old house. It's a possibility that they walked there before we even started searching for them."

"Worth a try Babe, let's go." He squeezed her hand and turned the Cayenne in that direction. They drove over to the house in silence, each lost in thought. Stephanie couldn't stop blaming herself, she should have talked to the girls last night and maybe then they wouldn't have run away. Now, all she could do was hope she could find them and get the whole misunderstanding straighten out.

"Babe, I can see the smoke rings coming out of your ears. You need to stop blaming yourself, if anyone is to blame, it's me. I told you not to bother them that it would be okay until morning. I'm the one that hurt them when I brought up Julie. The entire thing is my fault."

"I know what you are trying to do and I appreciate it, but it's my fault. I'm the one, my sister trusted to take care of them and I screwed it up, if I would have been doing my job properly the girls would have brought the problem to me, instead of running away. So you see it's entirely my fault." She sighed and rested her head back against the seat.

"Babe," he began but was interrupted sharply by Stephanie.

"Save it, Ranger. I'm to blame and you can't change my mind, so please, drop it. I just want to find them, and make sure they're alright." She held up her hand to silence him when he started to respond. He inclined his head forward slightly in acknowledgement then returned his attention back to the road.

Ten minutes later, they were pulling up in front of the house. They knew the girls had to be inside, because the kitchen and bedroom lights could be seen from the road. "You would think, with all the people looking for the girls, that someone would have driven down this street and seen the lights. If nothing else, the neighbors know the house is empty, they should have noticed." Stephanie sighed in exasperation and started to get out of the car, she turned to look at Ranger. "I think it would be best if I went in and talked to them first. They're my responsibility, and since they know me better, they might open up to me more if I go in alone."

"Okay, Babe, if that's what you want. I'll wait here, yell or call, if you need me."

Stephanie nodded her head, got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk. When she stepped inside the house, both girls were sitting on the floor in the living room with a jewelry box placed between them. Mary Alice and Angie were both holding something; they jumped when Stephanie closed the door loudly. "Girls, running away is not acceptable behavior. Everyone has been worried sick about you both. Please, tell me what caused you to run away from me"

The girls exchanged looks, tears pooling in their eyes. Mary Alice was the first to speak; she just blurted everything out all at once. "Aunt Steph, we're sorry that we scared you. We were afraid that since Ranger was going to Florida to be with his daughter, that you might like his daughter more, and then you wouldn't want us, and then we would lose another family. We got scared and wanted to come back to our old house to feel close to Mommy and Albert." By the time she'd finished the explanation; the tears had pored over and ran down her cheeks.

"Okay, I think I understand how you felt, but running away from me without talking about it was not the answer. I promise you that I'll never abandon you. I love you both. We have to agree to talk things out between us, running from problems only make them worse. Do you understand what I'm saying?" The girls' heads bobbed in agreement. Stephanie wrapped an arm around each of the girls before continuing to explain. "Someday, Ranger and I might get married. If that happens, Julie would be a part of this family as well. She's a really nice young lady. Ranger has a huge eight bedroom beach house in Miami. He just thought it would be fun for all of us to have a vacation and spent a few weeks down there. I'm sure you'll like Julie. She swims, surfs, and has lived on the beach her entire life. She's thirteen this year, so you girls could maybe get some advice from her. That is all we were thinking when we suggested it. I love you and Ranger does, too. He has never been as close to his own daughter as he's been to you girls. We just wanted to show you a good time, get away from Trenton for awhile and enjoy the beach. I want to say this again, we weren't trying to hurt you and we would never abandon you." Stephanie tightened her hold on each of the girls' shoulders before placing a kiss to the top of each of their heads.

"Thank you, Aunt Stephanie; we love both of you, too. It'll be fun to hang out with a teenager. And I have always wanted to go to the beach. Maybe I can learn to surf." Mary Alice was starting to get excited now that she understood everything she'd been told, but so far Angie wasn't completely on board with the plan.

"Are you okay, Angie? You're awfully quiet. What's in your hand?" Stephanie turned her attention to her silent niece.

"Yeah, I guess, I'm alright. I was just scared that you and Ranger wouldn't want to be around us anymore. You have never been a Mommy and since Ranger has a daughter that lives in Florida, we thought you might go to Florida with him and would just leave us in Trenton with somebody else." Stephanie rubbed her hand up and down Angie's back in a comforting motion.

"Angie, I would want both of you with me no matter where I live. I know I've never been a Mommy before, and I am not trying to replace yours, but I'm going to do my best for both of you. If Ranger wants me to go to Miami with him, then we all go. If we don't all agree, then we stay home, okay? I love both of you very much; please, never think for a minute that I don't and that I wouldn't want you. I'm very proud and honored that your mommy trusted me enough to raise her sweet, loving, kind, beautiful daughters. Now, you never answered my other question. What have you got in your hand that you're hanging onto for dear life?"

"Last year, when Albert moved in with us and became our step-father, he bought all three of us matching necklaces. Each one of them has our birthstone in it and is in the shape of a heart. He said that he wanted Mary Alice and I to know how much he loved us, and that he was very happy that we let him marry our mommy and to become our step-dad, and that he was giving each of us a piece of his heart. We had fun with Albert, he was silly, and he made us laugh. When Dad still lived here, he never did anything nice for us, and he never once bought us anything special like our necklaces. Albert wasn't our real dad, but he treated us better than Steve ever did. I miss Mommy and Albert. We wanted to keep our necklaces and also want to keep Mommy's, if that's alright." Angie was once again sobbing as she finished her story; she even had Stephanie and Mary Alice crying.

"Oh, Sweetheart, you can keep anything in this house that you want. And if, you feel closer to your mommy here, then we can always move back in. Ranger would understand if I decided not to let him have it for work." By this time, Ranger had silently walked into the house to make sure everything was going along smoothly and he'd caught the last few moments of the conversation.

"Of course, I would. Anything you girls want, that will make you happy, is fine by me." He told them with a smile.

"No, I think we both like living in your building, our apartment is really cool. And Ella's cooking is awesome and we both love Lester. He is so much fun to hang around with. We want to stay where we are, okay?" Angie spoke with confidence now that she knew her and her sister's opinions mattered and that Ranger and Stephanie would listen to them.

"Of course, it is, whatever makes you happy, makes me happy." Stephanie told them.

"Ranger, if you still want us to, we would love to go to Miami and see your beach house and meet your daughter. We're sorry we got jealous and run away. We promise not to do it again." Mary Alice said sheepishly not quite meeting his eyes.

"It is absolutely fine with me if we all go to Miami and I would love nothing more than for you to meet Julie. I told her about both of you and she is really excited about being able to spend time getting to know you girls. After all you've been through, there's no reason for you to apologize for anything, and no need to feel bad about being jealous." Ranger quietly explained to them both.

"Well, now that we have all of that cleared up, I say we head over to Pino's for dinner. When we're done, we can head back to Haywood and start packing. Does that sound like a good idea?" Stephanie looked at each of her loved ones with a smile on her face.

Everyone agreed that sounded like a plan. The girls and Stephanie were especially hungry after all the stress of the day. They started talking about what they were going to order when they got to the restaurant. Stephanie said they were definitely having extra large helpings of dessert, that comment had Ranger's lips twitching up as he helped the ladies into the Cayenne. He settled into his 'zone' as the chatter continued all the way downtown. The conversation turned from food to clothes and what they were all going to have to pack. Look out Miami; they'd soon be heading your way!

TBC…… IN: "LIFE IN MIAMI"


	15. Chapter 15 Life In Miami Part One

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. There will be a couple of characters in the next few chapters that are mine, I made them up. Thanks to Angie for all the hard work, and your advice on this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. Hope you enjoy.**

_**Chapter Fifteen "Life in Miami Part One"**_

Stephanie awoke in the bed by herself, flat on her back, in her traditional 'thinking position'. Today was the day, they were finally heading down to Florida for a few weeks to spend time with Julie and take in the sites of the Miami area. Stephanie reflected on how they had all sat down and had a very long, serious talk with the girls about all their fears they'd dealt with some of the left over grief the girls were still carrying around. Losing their mother had been very hard on them and Stephanie thought this trip was just the medicine they all needed to help heal some of those emotional wounds. They assured the girls that going to Miami would not change anything and meeting Julie was something they should be excited about, not stressing over. At the end of the talk, the girls apologized for running away and then they had to go apologize to Lester. He was really upset when he learned they had scrambled the monitors and snuck out on his watch. The girls had batted their eyelashes, gave him lots of hugs and kisses and he came around soon enough. Apparently, Lester's a glutton for any female attention, no matter what the age. Now all was well again at Haywood.

"Hey, Babe," Ranger said as he walked into the room and lay down beside her pulling her into his arms.

"Hey, yourself," she replied with a smile in her voice.

"What's got you so pre-occupied? I called your name twice and you didn't answer." He hoped she wasn't having doubts about the trip.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about our trip, I know this is a good thing for all of us right now. Of course, I was also mentally going over everything we've got packed, trying to make sure we haven't forgotten anything. It's a lot different packing for three people, instead of just me; thank goodness you packed for yourself, Batman. I'm about to buckle under all the pressure"

"Babe, you're doing fine. Stop worrying. If we don't have something when we get to Miami, it'll just be an excuse for you to go shopping."

"As if I need an excuse to go to mall….pleeaassee." Stephanie rolled her eyes at the handsome man lying next to in bed with the hint of a smile on his face. "What time is our flight?" She asked as she settled her head onto his shoulder.

"Whenever we arrive at the airport, we're taking my private jet. The girls can watch movies, listen to music, or play video games and we'll be more comfortable in it than flying commercial." Ranger made the statement casually, as though flying on private jets wasn't a big deal.

"Flying Batshit! You've got your own plane?" Stephanie exclaimed, bolting upright in bed looking down at Ranger, who now had the full on smile in place. He gave her a nod, she shook her head in disbelief before she added, "I always wondered how you and the guys were able to fly on such short notice, and be able to carry your weapons. Let me guess, your plane is shinny, new and black." She pondered as Ranger gave her a smirk.

"No, Smartass, it is two years old. It's white with the Rangeman logo on the side in black." He told her, but she could swear he was about ready to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Wow, you own something white. Are you sure it's safe? We won't get struck by lightning or anything, will we?" She was laughing so hard at expression on his face; she had trouble getting all the words out.

Ranger was glad to see her laughing, even if it was at his expense. "You are really gonna get it, now you better behave." He swatted her on the butt, which stopped the laughter immediately.

Stephanie looked at him in shock, "You did _not_ just spank me?"

"Babe you so deserved it." The glare he received from her had him bolting off the bed and slamming the bedroom door just as the pillow landed with a thump against it. The muffled, "Jerk!" from the other side had his laughter ringing out in the apartment.

Two hours later, she had everything of hers and the girls packed and waiting by the front door. She knew Tank and Lester would be up to get their bags, and then they would be driving them to the airport.

Sure enough ten minutes later the guys showed up, grabbed the bags, and they all made their way to the elevator. Ranger had his arm firmly around Stephanie's waist as they walked. He had arrived a couple minutes before the guys. When he stepped into the apartment, he had immediately kissed Stephanie senseless and the early scene seemed to be forgotten after that.

When they reached the garage, the stuff was stowed into two SUVs. They left the Haywood Street garage, heading for a private airstrip on the outskirts of Trenton, with Ranger and Stephanie in the first SUV and the girls, Tank and Lester in the second.

Ranger told Stephanie, on the drive, that a silent partner at Rangeman owned the airstrip where his plane was stored, that they traded storage for the occasional use of the plane. She wondered if she'd ever know everything about the man sitting beside her. But then, that was part of the reason she was so drawn to him, even if it drove her crazy with curiosity sometimes.

Once the luggage had been loaded onto the plane, they walked over to Tank and Lester to say good-bye. Tank immediately brought Stephanie into a hug and kissed the top of her head, then handed her over to Lester. Tank grabbed each of the girls, tucked one under each of his powerful arms and then took off running like he was carrying them away so they couldn't leave. The girls squealed and beat at the big man to let them go, they wanted to see the ocean.

Stephanie laughed at the scene before turning to say good-bye to Lester. "Beautiful, I sure am gonna miss you. You could always send him to Miami by himself and stay here to keep me company." Lester gave his best 'I'm a hottie, you can't resist me' smile before placing a sloppy, wet kiss on Stephanie's mouth.

Ranger immediately reached over and slapped him on the back of his head. "Keep your comments, your hands, and your lips to yourself, understand? She belongs to me. If you want to kiss a woman, get one of your own." He practically growled the warning into Lester's ear.

"Sure, Boss, just having a little fun," Lester said sheepishly. He gave Stephanie a wink as soon as Ranger's back was to them.

After the guys finished their goodbyes and the girls had been passed back and forth between Lester and Tank, it was time to board the plane.

It was then that Stephanie remembered how much she hated to fly. She had a death grip on the armrest and her eyes squeezed tightly shut, silently mouthing the words to The Lord's Prayer.

Gently prying her hands off the armrest, Ranger took both of them in his hands, kissed the palms and then placed them in his lap. "Babe, everything is okay. Don't you know I won't let anything happen to you? Just sit back and relax." He leaned over and softly kissed her temple. Stephanie instantly relaxed; his touch and kisses had that effect on her.

Exactly four hours later, they had landed at a private airstrip in Miami. She couldn't believe how comfortable the flight was, this was the first time that she hadn't been scared to death the entire flight or had to consume massive amounts of alcohol to keep herself calm. As a matter of fact, if she hadn't looked out the window, she wouldn't have even realized they had landed.

The whole flight Stephanie had kept a close eye on Mary Alice and Angie. She could just see the excitement radiating off them the closer they got to Miami. Neither of the girls had ever flown, what a way to experience your first flight, Stephanie thought, in a private plane.

They talked non-stop through the flight about getting to see the ocean for the first time, what Florida was going to be like and various questions about Julie. What Julie's favorite color was, who her favorite music artist was, her favorite movies and on and on the questions went. Ranger patiently tried to answer the questions he knew but finally distracted the girls with a movie that Julie had left in the plane the last time he'd flown with her. The girls immediately fell into a trance like state watching the big screen in front of them, headphones in place. Stephanie smiled as Ranger's body had relaxed when silence had descended into the cabin. The rest of the flight had been quiet, the movie coming to an end just as the plane made its final approach.

When the pilot had announced that they had arrived and it was safe to unbuckle the seatbelts, Stephanie had stood, reaching her hands high above her head in a cat-like stretch.

"Gee, Batman, I'm never going to want to fly in a regular airplane again. I guess I'll just have to borrow your jet whenever I need to take a trip." She gave him a mischievous smile; the stretch had turned his eyes to rich, dark chocolate, desire evident in their depths.

"Babe, if you ever need the jet, you won't have to worry about borrowing it. I plan on going everywhere with you. I didn't even get to show you the bedroom." He whispered huskily into her ear.

She had a whole body shiver. She turned in his arms and placed a passionate kiss to his lips. Pulling back, she whispered in his ear, "I hope you always feel that way about me, Batman."

"Never a doubt in my mind Babe, I have loved you since that day in the diner and I always will." He kissed her forehead and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the door. The girls bounded down the stairs in front of them.

As they stepped from the plane, they found a shinny, black SUV and a man dressed in the Rangeman uniform standing by the passenger door.

When they reached the man, he extended his hand to Ranger. "Welcome back to Miami, Carlos, it's been too long. The gang has missed you. Pricilla wasn't too happy when I told her she couldn't come with me to pick you up."

Stephanie raised her eyebrow when he said Pricilla, but didn't comment or ask the obvious question. "Thanks, Eric, I've missed Miami and the guys, too. I'd like you to meet Stephanie Plum, my girlfriend and her two nieces, Angie and Mary Alice."

"Hi, my name is Eric Walters. I'm pleased to meet all of you. If you're ready to go, we can get you to the beach house, it takes about an hour. I bet you girls are excited to see the ocean, huh?" Eric smiled and opened the back door for Stephanie and the girls then opened the passenger side door for himself. Ranger made his way to the driver's side.

By the time they'd pulled into the drive of the house, all the females in the SUV were bouncing in their seats. Stephanie noticed that instead of rocks, the driveway was made out of crushed white seashells; she pointed this out to the girls. They said the shells sparkled like diamonds with the sun shining on them. The outside of the house was white. It was three stories with black shutters on the windows. The lower level was pretty much all glass, when Stephanie commented on it, Ranger said not to worry all the glass was bulletproof. There was a massive six car attached garage at the left side and another three car garage on the right. They pulled into the one on the left side. Inside there were five more black SUV's. Ranger explained that they belonged to Rangeman; the office didn't have an underground garage like Trenton. Some of the SUVs had to be stored here since the only parking the office had was on the street.

Eric helped unload the luggage before he told everyone to enjoy their stay in Miami, and then Ranger walked him to the door.

While Ranger and Eric talked softly at the door, Stephanie and the girls gapped at the house. They were all speechless, which Ranger would have enjoyed had he been standing with them. The girls asked permission to 'explore' the house, Stephanie gave a nod and they took off together, their excited chatter echoing down the hall.

Stephanie decided to start her tour in the kitchen, which was immediately off the garage, it was done in midnight black and gleaming bright white. The counter tops were made of black marble. The appliances glistened in a shining black. The back splash and walls were white; a checker board pattern encased the floor. If Stephanie knew the first thing about cooking, she was sure this would be her favorite room in the house.

She traveled into a huge dining room with a table that sat twelve people. The centerpiece was a low crystal vase with fresh flowers, the fragrance lingering in the air as she headed to a hallway. There was a huge bathroom on the left and an office to the right. The short hallway ended and gave way to the living room; it was a huge open space with a black sectional, two end tables and a huge entertainment center that took up one whole wall. A 52" flat screen had to take a backseat to the breathtaking view of the ocean that was visible through the glass wall that made up one side of the room.

Walking up to a spiral staircase to the second floor, Stephanie was joined by Ranger. He told her there were four bedrooms and four full baths on the second floor. Two of the rooms had ocean views and the other two had views of a beautiful flower garden and the pool. All the rooms were done in soft white walls and light blue accessories.

Going up to the third floor, she was told it had housed the master suite, which had a full bathroom with a garden tub, and a spectacular view of the ocean. When Stephanie stepped inside the room, she felt the same calm come over her as she did when she entered his seventh floor apartment. This room was once again done in black and white. There was a smaller room at the other end that he used as an office, also with an attached bathroom.

Ranger showed Stephanie the pool house which contained a full wet bar, game room, movie room and another couple small bedrooms. They returned to the living room to find the girls patiently seated on the couch waiting to see what they'd get to do first. Stephanie's mind reeled, as they stepped into the large room that the entire apartment building, where she'd lived for so many years, would fit in this house and still would have room left over.

The girls each picked out a room on the second floor. They said they wanted to stay on that floor since that's where Julie's room was located. Stephanie was all too happy to have the third floor for her and Ranger. They'd have some privacy and a beautiful view of the ocean to boot. The girls quickly made their way back to the second floor to begin unpacking. Ranger and Stephanie returned to the third floor to do the same thing.

"Babe, after we unpack do you want to go down to the beach and look around, or would you rather go out and eat? My housekeeper, Ginger, won't be here until tomorrow. Her daughter is at the hospital having a baby."

"We can check with the girls, but the beach sounds good to me, you know how I love the ocean." Stephanie gave him a heartwarming smile before she walked over to look out the window. He came up silently behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and they stayed that way for a long time, until curiosity got the better of her. "Ranger?" Stephanie asked quietly.

"Yeah, Babe?" He whispered at her ear.

"Who's Pricilla that Eric mentioned earlier?" She felt him tense behind her as soon as she said the woman's name.

"She works for Rangeman. She does pretty much the same thing here as you do in Trenton. Paperwork, searches, distractions, surveillance and goes out occasionally to catch FTAs. She's been with the company since it opened. My brother hired her, she had been a dispatcher for the police force, but was bored and wanted a little excitement. He trained her and she worked out."

"Oh, I was just curious. Well, we better go find the girls." Stephanie stepped out of his arms and turned to walk out the door. She got the distinct impression that there was more to this Pricilla than what Ranger had just shared. But, Stephanie decided they'd just got here and she didn't want to cause any trouble, so she kept herself from asking the barrage of questions that sprang to her mind. She figured she'd wait until she met Priscilla or Ranger volunteered more information before giving the feeling any more worry.

They found the girls in the living room playing the Wii. They decided to go to a small deli down on the beach and grab a few groceries to take back to the beach house. They planned to watch the tide come in, and then watch the sunset.

The air was warm as the girls happily played in the surf stopping every once in a while to pick up a shell or rock that caught their interest. Ranger and Stephanie sat on a blanket in the dry sand, her back pressed to his front, arms draped loosely around each other. The girls laughter combined with the beautiful scenery gave everyone a sense of peace and helped to relieve some of the sadness and stress of the past few weeks, tomorrow would be another big day. The plan was to go to Ron and Rachael's to pick up Julie first thing in the morning, then a trip to Rangeman to take a tour and allow Ranger to check in with the staff.

When the sun had completely disappeared into the horizon, they all slowly made their way back to the house. They stayed up late talking, laughing and watching music videos. Stephanie remembered lying her head down on Ranger's lap one minute and then the next, being carried up the steps to the bedroom. She snuggled into the wonderful sheets as Ranger's warm presence settled in behind her. Stephanie felt a kiss pressed to top of her head, then drifted back into a tranquil sleep.

_**TBC.....IN **__**"Life in Miami Part Two"**_


	16. Chapter 16 Life in Miami Part Two

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. There are a couple new characters in this chapter that are mine. Thanks to Angie for all the hard work, and your advice on this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. **

_**Chapter Sixteen "Life in Miami Part Two"**_

The next morning, everyone was greeted by Ginger. She had arrived bright and early to prepare a whole buffet of food. Stephanie thought that she must have died and gone to Heaven. There were several different types of muffins, and an entire assortment of breakfast food including all of Stephanie's favorites. There were also several different drinks to accompany all the terrific looking food. Stephanie leaned over to Ranger and spoke quietly in his ear. "Why is there so much food? We couldn't possibly eat all of this."

"Babe, Ginger is to Miami what Ella is too Haywood, but since she needed to be here to set up, some of the employees are coming over here for breakfast before work."

"Oh, okay. Will they always be coming over?" Stephanie had thought it would just the four of them at the beach house. But before he could reply, they heard the front door open and then a woman's voice filled the air.

"Carlos, I'm so glad you've finally come back to Miami. You have no idea how bad I've missed you." She purred as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ranger began removing her arms and pushing her away from him instantly, "Hello, Pricilla. I didn't think you would be here this morning."

"Oh come now, Carlos, you know I would never pass up an opportunity to spend time with you. It has been far too long." She leaned in again and tried to wrap her arms around him.

By now, Stephanie was starting to get a little angry. She didn't know who this witch was, but she had her hands all over her man and obviously she couldn't take a hint. Stephanie was about to say something, when Ranger stepped over to her side. He placed his arm around Stephanie's waist before starting the introductions. "Pricilla, I would like you to meet Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Pricilla."

Stephanie extended her hand to Pricilla and said. "Hello, it's nice to meet you." Stephanie had remembered to bring some of her 'burg manners' with her, even if this little twit was making her eye twitch.

Pricilla just looked at the outstretched hand with disgust and turned back to Ranger. "Now that the introductions are done, why don't we go take a walk on the beach and catch up?" Priscilla cooed as she ran a finger down Ranger's arm. "You know like we usually do."

"Pricilla, I can't do that. I'm here with Stephanie. She's my girlfriend now, and these are her nieces." Ranger politely told her as he inclined his head toward the girls. We came down here on vacation and to spend some time with Julie."

After shooting Stephanie a dirty look, she turned her attention back to Ranger. "Well then, I guess I should leave you all to your little family vacation. Some of us have work to do." Spearing Stephanie with another murderous look, Priscilla turned on her heel and walked out the door, which she slammed so hard the pictures rattled.

Stephanie stifled a giggle when the door closed. She could tell Ms. Prissy wasn't use to being passed over. Stephanie couldn't be more pleased that she was there to witness it. She didn't like the way she had her hands all over Ranger or the way she was looking at him, like she wanted _him_ for breakfast, worst of all, was the fact that she called him by his given name, which spoke of an intimacy that left Stephanie feeling a little uncomfortable. The way she said "Carlos" was like fingernails scrapping on a chalk board to Stephanie. It just made her want to scratch the bimbo's eyes out.

"Babe, are you okay? You haven't said anything for a long time." Ranger asked when they sat down at the table.

"Yeah, fine. I just didn't appreciate Ms. Prissy and her attitude. And the way she called you Carlos, let's just say, I was glad when she left."

"Babe, don't worry about her. I'm here with you. You have no reason to be jealous, I promise." He tilted her chin up to look into her eyes; he brushed the gentlest of kisses to her lips. He pulled back reluctantly from the exchange and tucked a wild curl behind her ear. "We better finish eating. Julie's probably already wondering if we're on our way."

It was exactly one hour from the beach house to the beautiful suburb, where Julie and her folks lived. Stephanie had to admit, she was more than a little intimidated. She hadn't seen Julie since the Scrog incident. Stephanie was unsure how Julie felt about her and her dad being a couple now. Plus, Stephanie was scared that Rachael wouldn't want her to be hanging around with her daughter. Stephanie guessed that if that was the case, she and the girls could just go back to Trenton and let Ranger stay. He could spend the rest of the summer with Julie. On top of all the stress with Julie, Stephanie was also worried about the nagging feeling in the back of my mind about Priscilla. Her 'spidey sense' was telling her; there was more to the story than what she had been told. Well, one thing at a time. Julie would be first up, since they'd just arrived in the driveway of a very nice, very elaborate home. As soon as Ranger stopped the SUV in front of the house, they heard the front screen door slam and a high pitched scream. "Ranger, omigod, I can't believe you're here! I'm so glad to see you. I can't wait to get you out on the ocean and surf! We're going to have so much fun!" She was out of breath by the time she finished talking.

"Julie, calm down. Let me get out of the truck first." He was laughing and as soon as he stepped out, she had her arms wrapped around his waist.

"Aunt Steph, I thought Julie was his daughter? If she is, then why does she call him Ranger?" Mary Alice asked in a highly curious voice

"Well, it is a long story, but Ranger let Julie's step-father adopt her when she was very little. Ranger was still in the Army and they had gotten a divorce. Ranger thought Julie would be better off with a dad that lived with her fulltime. Julie knows Ranger is her dad, but she calls Ron Dad, so she just calls Ranger by his name instead, understand?" When they both nodded their heads, Stephanie sent up a silent prayer of thanks. She just about had herself confused with the explanation, but couldn't think of an easier way to explain.

By now Stephanie and the girls were climbing out of the SUV. "Stephanie!" Julie squealed she ran up and wrapped her arms around Stephanie in a friendly hug. I'm so glad you got to come down here with Ranger. I have wanted to see you again! Now we can hang out, and do girl things. I thought you were so cool, when I met you in Trenton. I'd hoped I'd get to see you again!"

"Hey Julie, I'm glad to see you too. I'd love to spend some time with you. I've never been to Miami; I bet you know the best places to shop, huh?" Stephanie said with a smile as she returned Julie's hug. "Julie these are my nieces Mary Alice and Angie. Girls this is Julie." "Hi Mary Alice and Angie, it's nice to meet you both. We're going to have such a great time together; I know I can just feel it." Julie was bouncing with excitement. Both girls quietly returned her hello, but didn't say anything else.

"Julie, where is your mom and Ron? We need to get your stuff and head out. I wanted to spend the whole day at the beach house." Ranger asked while leading her up the sidewalk to her front door.

"They're both in the kitchen drinking lemonade; Mom said it was too hot to go outside today. Come on and I'll take you to them." Julie said, as she led the way to the kitchen.

Stephanie was taking in her surroundings as she walked behind the gang; she had never seen a more beautiful house, other than Ranger's, of course.

As soon as they walked into the kitchen, they were greeted with smiles and hugs. "Welcome back, Ranger. Julie has been talking about you nonstop since you called and told her you were coming down to spend some time with her." Rachael smiled, leaned in and gave him a small hug, then pulled back.

"It is very nice to see you again, Stephanie and under far better circumstances. Welcome to our home. You remember my husband, Ron." Rachael asked as she pointed in his direction.

"Hello, it's nice to see you both again. Thank you for allowing all of us to come down and spend some time with Julie. We have been looking forward to it for a while now." She smiled and shook both of their hands while she was talking.

"Julie and I have been looking forward to you coming here as well. We're hoping that all of us girls could hang out. Go shopping, out to eat, walk on the beach, or anything else you might want to do. We thought it'd be nice to get to know all of you better."

"I would love that, and I am sure my nieces would love to as well. I never need a reason to shop, especially if it involves shoes."

"Babe, I can think of another store that you and I both love when you shop there." Ranger whispered huskily in her ear.

Stephanie gave him a dazzling smile over her shoulder and turned an interesting shade of pink. She was well aware of the store he was referring to; the look he gave her had her hormones striking up the band.

"Once you get settled into the beach house and have had some time to spend together, give me a call and we can set something up." Rachael told Stephanie. Then she turned her attention to the girls. "Hi, my name is Rachael and I am Julie's mom. It is very nice to meet you both. I hope that we can spend some time together. Do you like to shop like your aunt does?"

"Hi, I'm Mary Alice and this is Angie. It is nice to meet you, too and we both love to shop. Aunt Stephanie has taken us several times to the mall." Mary Alice explained.

"Well then, we'll have a great time together. Julie, you should go get your suitcase and get ready to go; you don't want to keep them waiting." Rachael told Julie as she shooed her upstairs.

When Julie brought her suitcase down, they loaded it up in the SUV and said their goodbyes. Stephanie promised to call Rachael one day next week to plan an outing. After that was finished, they were on the road and headed towards Rangeman Miami.

"Babe, this stop at the office will be quick. I just need to check a few things, make sure everything's running smoothly. Then we'll be able to head out to lunch, okay? Ranger asked while negotiating the heavy Miami traffic.

"Sure, whatever you want to do is fine with me. We can just all hang out in the break room or something while you take care of business, that way we won't get in your way." She smiled over at his profile as he was intent on his driving.

"Thanks, Babe. I should only be a few minutes, half hour tops. There's a TV in the break room and the girls and you can grab a soda while you wait."

"Sounds fine to me, I might try to catch a few winks while we wait. This sun and heat is wearing me out."

"Babe, you can sleep anywhere, anytime. Who are you trying to kid?" He winked at Stephanie, and then turned his attention back to the road.

The rest of the car ride was uneventful. The three girls laughed and talked together. The change in the girls' attitude about Julie was very welcome. Stephanie wanted them to able to see Julie as a friend not a rival. She really wanted Julie to see her as more than a friend of her fathers, because the relationship she had with Ranger was a _lot _more than friendship.

Once they pulled into the garage, Ranger placed a soft, gentle, but passionate kiss on Stephanie's lips. They exited the car and made their way to the elevator. Stephanie noticed that the Miami office and the Trenton office were identical, everything on the same floors even the key fobs were identical.

The elevator stopped on five and they made their way towards the control room. Ranger stopped to speak to several of the men, then introduced Stephanie and the girls. Once they'd made a circuit around the room, Ranger led them into his office. Stephanie noticed that his office was _not_ identical to the one in Trenton. The couch and chairs were royal blue instead of black, and he had a wooden bookshelf full of pictures. Stephanie had never seen a picture in his office back home. While Ranger was on the phone, Stephanie walked closer to the bookshelf to get a better look at the pictures. There were several of who she figured were his parents, some of the guys from Trenton in Army gear, but the one that stood out the most was of Ranger and Priscilla. They were both dressed in the standard Rangeman uniform, Ranger had his arms around her waist, smiling at the camera, while she placed a kiss to his cheek.

Stephanie glanced in Ranger's direction and noticed that he was still talking on the phone sitting in his office chair with his back to her. Stephanie decided to give him some privacy and took the girls with her. They decided to go to the break room in search of some drinks. Once everyone had something to drink and the girls were quietly talking between themselves. Stephanie decided to excuse herself to the ladies room, on the way she passed by a cubicle and heard a familiar voice. She was about ready to hurry on her way, but stopped when she heard the conversation.

"I couldn't believe it myself, when I heard that Carlos was back in town, but what really pissed me off was the fact that he showed up here with some slut and her nieces! He introduced her as his girlfriend! Can you believe that? Well, I have news for him. When he left here last time, we were still an item; hell, he left my bed that morning to catch his plane. I am sure once he gets tired of the slut and her rug rats; he'll come crawling back to me. As a matter of fact, I won't give him a week before he's back in my bed. We were so hot together; he'll get tired of her in no time. Honestly, you should have seen her. She's not his type at all. I don't know what kind of spell she has on him, but I guarantee you it will not last long. I guess I better go for now, I need to finish up my searches so I can have a couple days off. Call me later on this evening and we will go do something." Priscilla finished her call, snapping her phone closed with an audible click.

Now, Stephanie understood exactly who Priscilla was in Ranger's life and why she'd been so standoffish this morning. Stephanie had to wonder why Ranger didn't find it important enough to tell her that Priscilla was an ex-girlfriend. Why did he feel the need to keep that information from her...unless, he was planning on still seeing her on the side. Stephanie was definitely going to have to find out more about this situation and fast.

Exactly thirty minutes later, they were on their way back to the SUV. Stephanie decided not to say anything about the conversation she had overheard or about the picture she had seen in Ranger's office. Stephanie didn't know if Ranger would like her knowing about Priscilla and his relationship and she wasn't in the mood to piss Batman off today, especially in front of the girls. Besides that, he was driving and she was starving. Yep, best save that conversation later, in private.

The next week flew by as everyone was settled into the beach house and getting along perfectly. Julie taught the girls how to play beach volleyball and they had gotten into several games with some of the tourists at the public beach. Stephanie and Ranger took a moonlight stroll along the beach every night after the girls went to sleep. They'd been out to eat at so many places; it was hard to keep track of them all. Everything seemed to be going great, but Stephanie still hadn't brought up Priscilla and something about that whole situation was still bothering her. It wasn't until a few nights later, when she woke up to an empty bed and a note from Ranger saying there was an emergency at work. He'd gotten a call from Priscilla that she needed back up and that he didn't expect he would be too long. This brought her worries to the forefront of her mind. Was there really an emergency or something else, and if so what? She trusted Ranger, right? Priscilla was the real issue here. Stephanie knew she couldn't live in 'denial land' any longer about this problem. She was definitely going to find out where the true relationship between Ranger and Priscilla stood.

_**TBC…In: **__**"Life in Miami Part Three."**_


	17. Chapter 17 Life in Miami Part Three

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. There are a couple new characters in this chapter that are mine. Thanks to Angie for all the hard work, and your advice on this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. Thanks to everyone for all of the awesome reviews I have been receiving. They really mean a lot to me, and thanks for sticking with the story. I have used some of the advice that you all have shared with me in this story, I hope it was what you were looking for. I did have a complaint about not being creative enough with the chapter titles, and I am sorry they are not to your liking, but these are what I have had in mind, and I am going to continue to use them. Hope that doesn't offend anyone. Now on with the show…..**

_**Chapter Seventeen "Life in Miami Part Three"**_

When Ranger came home from work he seemed pre-occupied and didn't want to tell Stephanie anything about the supposed emergency involving Priscilla. When she asked him why he had to go, since technically he was on vacation, he'd responded, "I own the company; I'm never truly on vacation." Stephanie took that to mean 'none of your business, so drop it'. Stephanie determined that she needed a plan to find out a little bit more about Ranger and Priscilla's relationship, but she also knew she wasn't going to get any information from Ranger. Stephanie decided that the best thing to do right now was to not jump to conclusions and give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he did invite her to come along with him and he'd introduced her as his girlfriend. While these thoughts were rolling around in her head, Stephanie never heard Ranger and the girls come inside.

"Hey, Babe," Ranger said when he walked up behind her, causing Stephanie to jump and clutch at her chest.

"When are you ever going to stop sneaking up on me? I am way too young to die of a heart attack!" Stephanie said shooting him the death glare.

"Sorry Babe, I just couldn't resist. It's way too easy to sneak up on you. You aren't always aware of your surroundings." He smiled and kissed her cheek while she rolled her eyes. "We were all wondering if you wanted to go down to the boardwalk today. There's a carnival going on and we thought it would be fun, but it is entirely up to you."

"Sure, I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Just let me grab my purse, and then let's go!"

The carnival was bigger than anything she had ever seen in Trenton. There must have been fifty different rides, at least a hundred different game booths, plus all sorts of other exciting things to do. Stephanie thought the best part was the tons of different food booths. She wanted to try them all! They spent the whole day and well into the night playing games, laughing, talking and really getting into the 'carnival' atmosphere.

Ranger and Stephanie rode several rides including the Farris wheel. He convinced Stephanie to go on one thrill ride that left her green around the gills and wishing she hadn't went for the funnel cake beforehand. Ranger teased her about her junk food habits. While she accused him of being an adrenaline rush junkie.

Ranger won all of them stuffed animals at the several of the various game booths. The girls even went off for an hour by themselves to ride their favorite rides. Ranger and Stephanie took the opportunity to browse some of the other booths while walking hand and hand along the boardwalk.

"Babe, is there anything you want? You haven't got yourself one thing all night. You insisted on buying everyone else in your family something. You even picked up a charm necklace for Julie. Why don't you pick something out for yourself? If you don't, I will."

"Ranger, there is nothing that I need. I'm having an enjoyable evening; I don't need to buy anything to have a good time, half of the fun is in the browsing. I'm really happy just spending time with you. Please, stop worrying so much." Stephanie placed both of her palms on his chest and stretched up on her toes to softly kiss his lips.

"I just want you to be happy, Steph, and I like buying you things. It gives me pleasure to see you with something I purchased." Ranger quietly told her.

"Nothing makes me any happier than just getting to spend time with you and the girls. I had money in my first marriage and look where that got me. I'd never been more miserable in my life. What I really want is someone who'll support my choices and have my back when I need help. You've always done that for me. There's no price for that, right? Let's not worry about the whole money thing. Your time and attention is worth more than anything to me. I've been extremely happy these last few weeks and during one of the hardest times of my life; because you've gave of yourself, money wasn't the issue." Stephanie kissed him again when the kiss ended they stood locked in an embrace for several long moments. No more words where spoke, they weren't needed. After a while, they clasped hands started walking down the boardwalk again. They met up with the girls at one of the game booths. Around midnight, they decided to call it a night and head back to the beach house.

"Tomorrow I was thinking we could go to the beach and try surfing. I haven't done that for several years. What do you guys think?" Ranger asked once they were in the car.

A round of 'cools and yeahs' were exchanged between the girls. Stephanie decided while they surfed she wanted to work on her tan. She knew that Ranger needed to spend time with Julie and the girls alone. This was the perfect way for him to do it. She'd still be around, but not in the way.

The next morning, they all got ready and headed to the beach. Ranger and Julie already knew how to surf, but Mary Alice and Angie didn't have a clue. Ranger decided that he would teach Mary Alice and Julie could teach Angie. They spent the entire day out in the ocean practicing and learning. By four o'clock, Mary Alice had stood up on her board once. Angie had never been able to get up completely on her board. But, that didn't stop any of them from having a good time. Stephanie could hear their laughter several times from her position on the beach. Ranger was constantly encouraging the girls to keep trying. She was sure if he hadn't been so patient, they'd have never lasted out there as long as they did. They finally decided to call it a day, everyone was exhausted. They made plans to come back tomorrow and try again.

The same trend went on for the next week. Every day, Ranger and the girls would go surfing while Stephanie would work on her tan. Finally, Friday rolled around and Stephanie decided that she wanted a day away from the water. Since everyone else had really got into the surfing and wanted to hit the beach again, Stephanie figured she'd just call Rachel to see if they could go shopping together. She brought the idea up to Ranger over breakfast.

"Sure Babe, you deserve to have some free time. You go enjoy yourself and have a wonderful day. I'll keep the girls entertained. When you two get done shopping, maybe we can all go out to eat with Ron and Rachel. Does that sound good?"

"That sounds great." Stephanie told him, and then kissed him and the girl's goodbye as they made their way down to the beach. She went to the phone to call Rachel. She decided even if Rachel couldn't go, she was still going to get out for a little while by herself.

After the third ring, a soft voice answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Hi Rachel, this is Stephanie. I was wondering if you were free this afternoon." Stephanie greeted, getting right to the point of her call.

"I have no plans this afternoon. Do you want to go shopping? I was just thinking about you this morning. Are the girls going with us as well or is it just us?"

"It'll just be the two of us today. Ranger has had them out surfing all week, and even though I love the beach, there is only so many hours a girl can work on her tan before boredom sets in. He's really having a wonderful time with Julie; they have been getting along so great. They taught both Mary Alice and Angie to surf earlier this week and haven't missed a day since. I've never seen him so happy and relaxed. Thank you so much for agreeing to let him see Julie and spend time with her." Stephanie felt a lump rising in her throat as she finished.

"Stephanie, I'm grateful that Ranger wanted to spend time with Julie. I have been hoping for years that he would come around more. Julie has missed him so much. If anyone should say thank you it's me, before you came into Ranger's life he was miserable. I was married to him so I know that for a fact. I was beginning to think he would never truly be happy and enjoy life; he's been so tied up with the Army and Rangeman. He's never stopped to take time for himself or those people that are close to him. You've made all the difference in his life, Julie's life, and your nieces' lives and even in mine. So from the bottom of my heart, Stephanie, thank you."

Stephanie couldn't stop the tears from falling. She didn't entirely believe she had anything to do with it, but she was grateful that he was making an effort, and that everyone was truly happy because of it. "Thank you, Rachael. But, I can't take all the credit. I'm grateful that he is happy. He's done a lot for me over the years. Seeing him and Julie so happy together, well, it's been fantastic. Now, let's get together and go shopping!"

An hour later, they met up at a mall not too far from Rachel's house. They spent the entire day together shopping, laughing and telling their respective stories about Ranger. Rachel told about how she'd met Ranger, why their marriage had failed and how they'd manage to maintain a friendship for Julie. Stephanie told how Ranger had been set up to help her with her first FTA, Joe Morelli. She shared some of the more interesting stories about her FTAs. When she told about the Porsche and the trash truck, Rachel had laughed so hard that everyone around them had stopped to stare. They spoke of Ranger's unfaltering determination to get Julie and Stephanie away from Scrog. After that depressing subject, they decided they needed food and lots of it! They hit a Chinese buffet, and then they decided to go to a movie. By the time they finished with the movie it was after six o'clock.

When she arrived back at the beach house, everyone was dressed and waiting for her to get there. They decided to meet Ron and Rachel at a local seafood place on the beach. The dinner was fabulous and everyone had a great time. When they finished eating, they took a moonlight stroll on the beach and waded in the surf. By the time they got back to the beach house, Ranger was the only one awake. They'd all had a busy day and decided to call it an early night.

The next three weeks flew by; Ranger had spent a lot of time with the girls. After a week of surfing, they decided the next week to try rollerblading along the boardwalk. Some days Stephanie even joined them, while other days she spent with Rachel. They were forming a great friendship. The evenings were always spent together as a family.

All too soon, it was the last week of their stay. Ranger wanted to make it memorable for Stephanie. He decided a long time ago that he would have his 'someday' and he was finally achieving it. But, there was still another part that had not yet been fulfilled. He decided that tonight was the night. First thing he needed to do was make arrangements for the girls, then he could only hope the rest of his plan would fall together.

Picking up the phone, he called the person who could help with his plan. "Hello, Rachael, this is Ranger. I need to ask you for a favor…"

**TBC IN **_**"Life in Miami-Part 4"**_


	18. Chapter 18 Life in Miami Part Four

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. There are a couple new characters in this chapter that are mine. Thanks to Angie for all the hard work, and your advice on this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. Merry Christmas to everyone this chapter is for you. Warning: Contains Smut. Hope you enjoy.**

_**Chapter Eighteen "Life in Miami Part Four"**_

"Babe, I asked Rachael to let the girls spend the night at her house. I wanted to take you up the coast to some property a friend of mine owns." He quietly told her.

"Sure Batman, what should I wear for this outing? Dress up or casual?" Stephanie asked.

"The tank top and shorts you are wearing now is fine. You always look beautiful in anything you wear." He told her and lightly kissed her lips.

Ranger had waited two years for this moment and he was not about to blow it. He brought her to a private beach a few miles outside of Miami, so they could have a romantic moonlight picnic. He had the ring in his pocket, and a bottle of champagne and strawberries in the basket. While he waited for her to join him, he spread the blanket out and grabbed the champagne, strawberries and two wineglasses out of the basket and placed them on the blanket. He stood and offered her his hand as she approached, and when she placed his hand in hers, he pulled her into his arms for a gentle kiss and hug. Ranger helped her set down on the blanket, carefully sitting down behind her and stretching his legs on either side of her. Then took her hands in his and played with her fingers. Off in the distance the sun was just setting over the horizon showcasing a spectacular sunset. The sky was an array of different shades of pink and violet, with tiny fluffy white clouds hovering just above the water. They had never seen anything more beautiful in their lives. While the sun continued its descent into the ocean, Ranger fed Stephanie strawberries. Once they were all gone he turned her in his arms so he could see her face.

"Babe, I brought you out here, because I have something I want to ask you." He told her as he handed her a glass of champagne in one hand and took her left hand and placed it in his.

Stephanie wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to asked her, so she just nodded her head indicating she understood.

"Babe, these last few months that I have spent with you have been the happiest times in my life. I have never felt more loved, more needed, and more cherished then I do when I am with you. I have learned that I'm a man that is capable of both receiving, and giving love. Before you, I had never really had the opportunity to do either. Every morning I wake up and I say a silent prayer of thanks that you are in my life and that you found me worthy of your love. I'll never understand how an angel like you could love someone like me, but I am so thankful that you do. I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life trying to show you how much I love you. You are my world, you are every breath I take, you are my heart, and my soul. I love you with everything I am. Stephanie, will you marry me?" As he completed his little speech, he slid a three carat diamond engagement ring on her left finger.

Stephanie never took her eyes off him the whole time he was talking. She felt like every dream she had ever dreamed was finally becoming a reality. She knew exactly what he meant, because that was exactly how she felt about him. By the time he'd asked her to marry him, she had tears streaming down her face. She looked down at the ring on her trembling finger, and then back into the eyes of the man she loved more than anybody else in the entire world. She couldn't find her voice so she smiled the most angelic smile Ranger had ever seen and nodded yes then leaned forward and took his lips in a passionate kiss.

When she placed her lips on his, he felt a surge of electricity go through his body, and wrapped her in his arms as he deepened the kiss. He gently took both her wrists in his hand and pulled them above her head. He lowered them both back onto the blanket, never breaking the kiss. As his tongue gently demanded entrance, Stephanie opened her mouth, granting his persistent tongue full access. Ranger let out a soft moan when his tongue touched hers. His hands immediately released her wrists, in an attempt to pull her even closer. He felt her arms slide up and around his neck then into his hair, gently pulling out the leather strap. He placed one of his hands in her curls and turned her head in order to plunder her mouth further. Ranger was gently nibbling and sucking on the very tip of her tongue. As the heated kiss continued, his right hand wandered down her back and came to rest upon her ass. He felt the sharp intake of breath against his mouth, as he pulled her against his arousal.

After several minutes, Ranger gently broke the kiss in order to catch his breath. Stephanie could feel his hot breath against her mouth, as he fought for some control. When he gazed into her deep blue eyes he was lost. He could see the same look of desire that he felt reflected back in her eyes. He lowered his head to kiss her once more, before working his way down her neck. He licked and nibbled a path from her jaw line all the way to her shoulder before stopping to pay homage to her ear then made a journey to the other side. Stephanie's breath quickened with every touch of his lips and teeth. Ranger began edging the straps of her tank top off of her shoulders, in an attempt to kiss the swell of her breast. He was surprised when she arched her back, giving him the advantage. When her breasts finally emerged before his eyes, he took a moment to admire them before he bent down to taste them. His large hands traveled down her chest, stopping only long enough to gently cup them in his hands. Finally, Ranger looked up to meet her eyes and when hers locked with his he finally spoke. "You're so beautiful, Babe." He whispered in loving admiration.  
Stephanie smiled and took a deep breath in and held it. She ran her right hand softly against his cheek and held his gaze, while slowly urging his tee shirt up and off of his body with her left hand. She watched him close his eyes and release a low guttural moan, when she ran her fingers up his chest racking her nails across his nipples. Ranger hooked his fingers into the waistband of both her shorts and panties; he carefully slid them down her legs. He stood up briefly and removed his cargos in one fluid motion. She was happy to see that he was going commando.

He knelt down beside her on the blanket and trailed his fingertips across her stomach. Stephanie slid the palms of her hands down his chest and stopped momentarily at his abdomen. She felt his muscles tighten when her fingers came into contact with his rock hard member. She gently rubbed up and down along the shaft, stopping only to encircle his tip with a light touch.

A deep moan escaped Ranger's lips, and his body thrust forward into her hand. He laid his hand over hers, silently stopping any further movements with his gesture. "If you keep that up, it'll be over before it starts, Babe," he whispered before positioned himself atop of her, and began kissing her feverishly. His mouth quickly found her he began sucking and gently biting her taut nipples. He swirled his tongue around the center, willing them to rise. He engulfed her fully, stopping only to kiss his way to its twin. He felt her body arch against him, giving more of herself to his hungry demands.  
Stephanie gently pulled his mouth from its quest, and forced his head up to meet her eye to eye. Her eyes usually a sea-blue color were now a deep, sapphire blue, and filled with passion. She pulled him down, and placed a passionate kiss upon his lips. She reveled in the feeling of his hands urgently running up and down the sides of her body. Without breaking their kiss, Ranger's left hand gently nudged her legs apart. He ran his fingers lightly over her wet center and stroked it delicately. He found that her body was more than ready for his, so he positioned himself at her entrance. He heard Stephanie cry out his name when he pressed just his tip against her core. Desire overtook his body, as he gently inched into her, eliciting a moan of pleasure from both their lips when they were finally joined together. Ranger momentarily stilled in order for her to adjust to him, before he finally began to move slowly sliding out, and then all the way back in.

Stephanie closed her eyes in the hope of slowing down the orgasm that threatened to rise to the surface. She wrapped her legs around his back, and urged him to plunge into her even deeper. Her body cried out to him, begging him to take all she had to give. She bucked her hips against him, forcing him to pick up the pace dramatically. Her legs began to shake violently as she neared the very edge of the cliff. "Ranger! Oh… God!" She repeatedly moaned over and over, lost in only the feeling of his body with hers. When her inner muscles tightened around his manhood, he gave a roar of fulfillment as she pulled him over the edge with her. Goosebumps covered his entire body, as he thrust into her over and over again. He covered her mouth with his own, as he filled her with all the love that flowed through his body. When the spasms subsided, both he and she were trembling in each other's arms.  
He pulled back slightly and brushed the hair away from her flushed face. When he tried to speak, the words weren't there, so he contented himself with just looking into her beautiful eyes. He smiled slightly, and caressed her cheek. After a few minutes, Ranger reluctantly withdrew as not to crush her with his weight. He turned on his side and continued to place soft kisses to her face. He reached out to caress her body with one hand, while the other hand traveled up to gently cup her cheek, and his thumb brushed across her soft lips.  
A light breeze blew, causing her to shiver. Ranger stood up and pulled her to her feet. "We better get dressed and head back to the beach house, Babe. It's starting to get chilly out and you don't need to get sick." He eagerly suggested.  
After they dressed, he pulled Stephanie back into his arms and kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Babe. Thank you for making me the happiest man alive tonight by agreeing to be my wife."  
They strolled along the beach, heading back towards their car. They stopped periodically, just to hold and kiss one another, but the chill eventually drove them back to the warmth of the car.

When they arrived back at the beach house, they were both looking forward to spending the night feeding their passion for one another. Walking into the bedroom, Ranger pulled Stephanie's body to his as his lips crashed against hers. Stephanie ran her hands across his bare chest, admiring the smooth skin under her fingertips, eliciting a deep growl from him. Stephanie decided to take the lead and pushed his cargos to the floor where he stepped out of them. Ranger then removed both her tank top and shorts urgently needing to feel skin-to-skin contact. Ranger picked her up and carried her to the bed. He gently placed her in the center then followed her down to cover her body with his. They made love throughout the night, finally falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms around daybreak.

When Stephanie opened her eyes a few hours later, she looked at the clock beside the bed and discovered that it was already noon. She felt Ranger's arms wrapped protectively around her body, but was surprised that he was still in bed asleep. She never dreamed love could be this fulfilling. She gently brushed her lips across his chest, placing tiny kisses here and there. She lifted her head, and wasn't surprised to find Ranger wide awake, staring back.

"Morning," she happily greeted in a husky voice.

"Good morning, Babe." He whispered and leaned in to drop a tender, loving kiss to her lips.

"I can't believe that you are still in bed at noon, Batman!" A smile broke out across her face at his exasperated sigh.

"Babe, you are in my bed naked and wearing my engagement ring. Where else do you think I would be?" He whispered as his hand went to work on her body under the covers.

"Batman, I need a shower and food in that order. So, don't even think about trying anything else right now!" She said as she jumped out of bed and ran towards the bathroom.

Forty-five minutes and two orgasms later, she was clean and ready for lunch. They decided to take a walk down the beach, and have lunch at a little seafood buffet. They walked hand-in-hand all the way there and she laughed as he told her stories of growing up in Miami and all the mischief him and his friends got into, how they drove his grandmother crazy with their stunts. She had never been happier in her life; this man was her perfect mate.

"Babe, I have to run to Rangeman to meet with my brother for a few minutes this evening. While I do that, could you stop by Rachael's house and drop off Julie's allergy medicine. Rachael called and said Julie forgot it and was suffering without it. Then I thought we could have dinner at the Fontainebleau Hotel on the beach, I could meet you there. One of the guys will drop me off. I have reservations at eight tonight at Scarpetta located inside the hotel. They serve Italian cuisine, and have a live band for dancing. I hear they are famous for their desserts. I promise a night to remember." He stopped talking to run his tongue along the inside of her mouth, leaving no doubt he was more than capable of upholding that promise. Ranger stopped the delicious torture and pressed his forehead against hers as he continued to talk. "We also need to discuss a few things: like when you want to tell the girls, where you want to live, when you want to get married, and how big you want the wedding to be. We can both think about those things today then we'll compare notes tonight over dinner." He said as he tucked a curl behind her ear, and then kissed her temple.

"Sure Batman, no problem. Maybe I'll take some time to soak in the Jacuzzi, I'm pretty sure I can do some deep thinking there." She smiled, kissing him gently on the lips.

"Have fun today and be careful! I'll see you at eight tonight." He told her as she walked him to his car before going into the house when he drove away.

Ranger arrived at the restaurant and requested a private booth in the back of the room with a beautiful ocean view. There was a nice size dance floor, and he knew the band would be playing jazz songs in a couple of hours. They would have plenty time to finish their meal and then he could spend the evening with her in his arms, swaying to the music.

Last night had been perfect. They had spent the entire night on the beach, first she agreed to be his wife and then they had made love outside with nothing around them; it was an extremely powerful, pleasurable step in their relationship. He felt like things in his life were finally right and they could only get better with Stephanie by his side. He had called ahead and had a dozen long stem red roses in the center of the table and a bottle of champagne chilling tableside. All he needed now was for Stephanie to arrive, and then the setting would be perfect.

He had sat there for about forty-five minutes waiting for Stephanie, he tried her cell but it went straight to voice mail. He called Rachael and she told him that she had dropped Julie's medicine off a while ago. She said that Stephanie was on the way to the restaurant directly from her house. She reminded him how bad traffic could be at this hour in Miami. Rachael gave a giggle as she could tell her words were not helping Ranger deal with the waiting. Ranger quickly ended the call when he heard high heels clicking on the floor. He stood thinking it was Stephanie, he was ready to greet her with a kiss, but was surprised and disappointed to see Pricilla instead of Stephanie striding towards him.

"Hi, Carlos," she purred walking up to stand in front of him.

"What are you doing here Pricilla?" He coldly replied, while he looked over her shoulder to check the door for Stephanie.

"I thought I seen you sitting over here all by yourself, and wanted to say hello." Reaching out to run her hand up his arm, as she gave him a sultry look.

"Well, I'm expecting Stephanie any time now, so you need to leave." He replied as he jerked his arm away from her.

"Oh come on, Carlos, can't I just sit down and say hi to an old boyfriend? Surely she would understand that." She said as she slid herself into the booth.

Pricilla carefully positioned herself between Carlos and the door, so that she would be able to see when Stephanie arrived. The minute Stephanie walked towards them Pricilla slid closer to Carlos and pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him in place.

Stephanie glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed, she was almost an hour late. She knew Ranger hated it when anyone was late, and even though it wasn't her fault, she still knew he wouldn't be happy. She had taken Julie's medicine to Rachel's house and visited shortly with the girls before she realized she really needed to get to the restaurant. Stephanie had figured she'd arrive early to their dinner date; she hadn't planned on the horrendous traffic jam that ensnared her on her way. Then when she finally did arrive, she thought she'd never find a parking spot.

Walking inside she gave her name Ranger's last name to the Maitre d' but was told that there was not a reservation under that name. Thinking that maybe she had the name of the restaurant wrong, she turned to find a phone since she'd left her cell phone back at the beach house by accident. As she turned her eyes she caught sight of a man and woman sitting in a booth towards the back of the room, her heart stopped when she took in the scene. She could see the vase of red roses, and although she couldn't see their faces, she didn't have to look twice to know exactly who they were, and it looked to her like they were kissing.

Walking up to the couple, she tapped him on the shoulder when he turned around, she seen the shock register on his face. "I guess this is why you had me take Julie her medicine. Silly me, here I was thinking you wanted to spend the evening with your fiancée, not in the arms of another woman!" With every word her voice was raising until by the end she was yelling, attracting the attention of everyone in the room, not that she gave a good damn.

"Stephanie, wait! I can explain. It's not what it looks like!" Ranger stood up from the table and tried to reach for her, but she pulled away.

"Yeah, I've heard that before. Let's see, first it was Dickie and Joyce on the dining room table, then Joe runs off to spend a month in a motel with his partner, but he tells me that's just part of the job. The worst part of this is I believed you, I TRUSTED YOU! 'Oh, Babe, I love you, I want to marry you, let's take this slow.' What a bunch of bull! We made love on the beach just last night and I agreed to be your wife and this is how you repay me, by humiliating me?! Why? No, never mind! Save the excuses for someone else, I'm leaving!" The tears were streaming down her face as she turned on her heel to flee the heartbreaking scene before her.

"Babe, I swear, she kissed me! I was sitting here waiting for you. Please, you have to believe me." He sounded sincere, but she wasn't going to buy another man's lies, been there did that!

"No, I don't have to do anything, Ranger. I trusted you. I really thought that you were different, but I can see I was wrong. You can take your ring back, I don't want it anymore. " She looked at him one last time, the tears blocking most of the view as she handed him the ring, turned and ran out of the restaurant.

"Stephanie! Wait!" Ranger yelled running after her. But just as he ran out the door, he saw her getting in a cab and it pulling away.

"Damn!" He ran back in the restaurant and grabbed his cell off the table, but when he dialed her number it went straight to voice mail, again! "Babe, call me. Please. You have to believe me. I love you. I'm sorry, please and he disconnected.

When he turned around Pricilla was standing behind him with a smile on her face. "Don't look so sad Carlos; she wasn't good enough for you. I can take care of you. Come with me, I have a penthouse not far from here. I promise I can make you forget all about that little tramp." She practically purred the words, confident of her victory.

"Pricilla, you better hope after the little stunt you just pulled that she forgives me, because if she doesn't, you are going to wish you had never met me. What the hell were you thinking pulling that shit? You knew I was dating her. Now, I suggest you get out of my sight before I do something I won't regret. By the way, you're fired! Have your stuff cleared out of your office by tomorrow; I never want to lay eyes on you again." His eyes were flaming and shooting daggers as he looked at her.

Ranger threw some money down on the bar and ran out of the restaurant; he hailed a cab as Stephanie had the keys to the car with her. He figured Stephanie would be heading toward the beach house and he needed to catch her before she did anything crazy, like leave him for good.

_**TBC…In: **__**"Life in Miami Part Five."**_


	19. Chapter 19 Life in Miami Part Five

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. There are a couple new characters in this chapter that are mine. Thanks to Angie for all the hard work, and your advice on this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. Thanks to everyone for all of the awesome reviews I have been receiving. They really mean a lot to me, and thanks for sticking with the story.**

_**Chapter Nineteen "Life in Miami Part Five"**_

Stephanie knew she had left Ranger's car at the restaurant, but all she could think about was getting away from their fast! If she would have walked to the car, he would have caught her, and she didn't want to hear anything he had to say right then. She couldn't believe that he could do something like this. Just yesterday, he had taken her to a private beach for a moonlight picnic and he'd asked her to marry him. Then today he was kissing another woman. What is it with every man in her life? What was wrong with her that all of them felt the need to cheat on her? As soon as she arrived back at the beach house, she took off walking down the beach. She figured eventually he would come looking for her, but she wasn't sitting around waiting for him to show up. After she had walked a couple of miles from the house, she sat down on the sand and looked out over the water. She had her knees bent, drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, and her chin resting on her knees while endless tears ran down her face. She didn't know how long she sat there before she felt his presence behind her. She made no attempt to move or speak.

Ranger walked up behind her, but stopped inches away without touching her. He could see that she was crying and it was tearing his heart out. He knew, though, if he tried to touch her right now she would pull away from him. He really didn't think he could take that form of rejection from her. He waited for several minutes and when she never said anything or made an attempt to leave, he took that as a good sign. He walked up beside her and took a seat, being careful to keep a little bit of space separating them. Finally, he couldn't stand the silence any longer and decided to be the first to break it.

"Babe, I am so sorry. I know what you witnessed back at the restaurant, but I swear to you Steph, it wasn't what it looked like. I was just sitting there waiting for you. She came in and sat down beside me. I didn't have a clear view of the door, but she must have; because once she saw you, she decided to pull that little stunt. You have to believe me, Babe! I would never do anything like that to you. I never want to hurt you, intentionally or unintentionally for that matter. I would never do anything to jeopardize our relationship. I finally got up the nerve to ask you to be my wife; there is no way in hell, after you accepted my proposal, that I would do anything to destroy it." He never took his eyes off her the whole time he was speaking. He noticed that she seemed to still be crying and she never once looked in his direction.

"Stephanie. Please. Babe, God, you have to say something…anything, please. I have to know that you believe me. I will do anything Babe, just say something." He was begging and he knew it, but right now he didn't give a shit. If she told him to strip, and crawl ass naked across the beach, he would if it meant she believed him and that she forgave him.

Finally, she looked up at him and the tears, the hurt, pain and loss he seen in her eyes broke his heart. He felt like his world had ended. "I want to believe you, I really do, but when I seen you kissing another woman, it just brought back too many bad memories. It hurt too much. I never thought that I would ever feel that way from you. I have always thought that what we had was strong, and that I could trust you, and you weren't the cheating kind. I can't even explain what I felt when I seen you and her. Maybe it wasn't real, but it still hurts. I have always been able to deny things that hurt, and get past them, but this is one thing I can't deny, the hurt is just too deep. I can't explain how I feel right now; I think I just need some time to deal with it. I have to sort this out on my own. Could you give me some space?"

"Steph, please don't push me away. We can fix this. I don't know if I can let you have space to be alone. What if I give you that space and I end up losing you? I don't think I can go on without you in my life."

"If you don't give me the space, then you will lose me anyway. I need time away from you to sort through my feelings. If I can't have that time, then I will never get past this. It is something I have to do. Today was an eye opener for me in many ways. I have been living in denial on so many levels since Valerie died, and today I finally realized that I can't do that anymore. When she was killed, I didn't properly allow myself to grieve. I mean, sure, I cried a few times, but I pushed most of my feelings so far back inside myself that they became covered up, buried really and not dealt with. I had two young girls that were relying on me to take care of them. If I allowed myself time to grieve, and then I couldn't take care of them. After that, there was the huge fight with Joe and my mother, all of which I also pushed to the back burner. Then you and I started spending time together and everything seemed so perfect, like none of the guilt and the grief mattered. I had you in my everyday life and you'd protect me from anything else bad happening. So I just went on with living in denial, until today, today I realized that I had been relying too heavily on you for my happiness and well-being. In an instant, that was taken away, and all those feeling of doubt, of grief, of unresolved problems, came rushing back. I can't live in denial anymore. I have to grieve for my losses. I need to try to fix my relationship with my mother. I need to be able to forgive Joe so that I can move past that unhealthy relationship before I can have any chance of having a relationship with you. This thing with Priscilla…I want to believe you, I really do, but I need time. If you love me even half as much as you say, then you will respect my feelings, and you will give me the space I'm asking for. I'd like to go back to Trenton…alone. No matter what, you're still a friend, and I do trust you with the girls. Could you keep them for me when I go back home? When I get a few things straightened out in my life, in my mind, I'll call you, and then we can talk about our future." With that, she stood up and looked him in the eyes, "I promise I will call you in a couple of days, to check on the girls. I hope I'm ready to talk about us at that time, but please don't push me. I mean it, I need time and space." She turned around and started walking back towards the beach house without waiting for his reply.

"Babe, wait, please!" He said as she started walking away from him.

Stephanie turned around and looked at him, slowly shook her head, no, before she whispered "Goodbye, Ranger." She turned back and continued walking away from him, never once stopping or looking back.

_One week later_

The past week had been hell, for both of them. A week ago today, Stephanie had left Ranger standing on the beach alone. Ranger had tried to call her several times, but she had turned off her cell so all he ever got was her voice mail. He continually left messages, telling her he was sorry, that he loved her, and missed her. He asked her to call him, but she had yet to return even one of the calls. He had talked to Lester a couple times during the past week. Lester told Ranger that Stephanie had arrived safely back in Trenton. She had gone directly into her apartment at Rangeman, packed a bag and left for Valerie's house, where she'd been ever since. Lester said, he'd heard rumors that she had went to her mother's for dinner. That they had talked and had eventually patched things up between them. Stephanie and Joe were seen having lunch at Pino's a couple days ago. They seemed to be getting along. They had shared a friendly hug as he left the restaurant and that was the last anyone had seen them together.

At least, Ranger thought, she was doing everything that she had said she needed to do. He prayed to God that she was still thinking about him, and that she would eventually call him. Ranger was normally a pretty patient man, but the waiting was killing him. He had heard her say she wanted space and he was trying really hard to respect her wishes. He'd just called periodically to remind her that he was thinking of her, that this separation wasn't easy on him. He knew that if he wanted to have a permanent relationship with her, he'd have to wait until she was ready to deal with the Priscilla issue, and accept whatever choice she made regarding their future.

Stephanie knew she had to call Ranger and give him a chance to explain. But, there was still one more thing that she had to take care of before she felt like she was free to move on with her life. Once that was done, then she'd tackle Ranger and their relationship. Stephanie really hoped that they would be able to work out their differences, get past this incident with Priscilla and be able to move forward together.

Valerie's grave was the last thing on her list. Stephanie made her way up the hill and to her sister's grave site. She had only been here once, the day she was buried. Stephanie had never been a fan of cemeteries to begin with, but coming to visit someone you love was just entirely too much to bear. She was proud that she spent so much time with her sister when they were growing up. She felt like they had somewhat drifted apart after they grew up and moved out of their parents' house, both figuring they'd pick up their friendship again when their lives slowed down. Valerie was busy with her family, and Stephanie was just trying to get by. Neither one stopped to think that one of them might not be around tomorrow, and now she was gone. Stephanie felt like a part of her heart was taken the night her sister died. There were so many things that Stephanie wanted to say, wished she had said more when she had a chance. She needed to say them now or she would never be able to move on.

"Hey sis," Stephanie greeted her as she took a seat in the grass, and placed a bouquet of flowers on the grave

"I am sorry that I haven't been able to come and visit before now. I miss you so much. I wanted to tell you that I loved you, and that I am sorry I never said that more often. I wish with all my heart that I could have told you one last time and also that I could have said goodbye to you. You were the best sister a girl could ever hope for; I just hope that I didn't disappoint you too bad. I am honoring your request and taking care of the girls for you. They are in Miami right now with Ranger and Julie. You would have been proud of them, last week they learned to surf. So far, no one has tried to jump off any garage roofs. Things were rough on them at first and they miss you terribly. I promise to love them as if they were my own. I wanted to apologize for the fight we had the last time I seen you. I will never forgive myself for not saying that I was sorry. You will be in all of our hearts every day. I love you and miss you, Sis. I'll bring the girls by to visit you as soon as they come back to Trenton. I'm going to start coming for more frequent visits myself. I just wanted to tell you that, and I sure hope you knew how much I loved you. I better go for now, but I will be back as soon as I can." Stephanie stood up, wiped the tears from her eyes, took one last, long look at her sister's grave then turned and walked away.

With this last item on her list completed, she sat in the car and contemplated her next step. She knew in her heart that she loved Ranger. He'd made it pretty clear the last time that she saw him there on the beach, that he loved her and wanted to be with her. She wondered where that would be, Trenton or Miami. She wanted a neutral playing field for them with no distractions. She was pretty confident that Ranger would go along with whatever she thought best. It was something they needed to work out together.

Stephanie pulled out her cell phone and made the call she'd been putting off for nearly a week.

After only one ring he picked up. "Babe?" Ranger practically whispered, thinking maybe he was just dreaming.

"Yeah Ranger, it's me. Listen, I wanted to know if you would be willing to talk to me tomorrow. I'm going to come back to Miami in the morning. I miss the girls and I want to see them. I'd like to talk to you first. Do you think if I met you at the beach house around lunch we could talk by ourselves?" Stephanie wanted to set the ground rules.

"Sure Babe, the girls have been staying with Rachael this week, so we can talk and then Rachael can bring them over." Ranger was grateful that they were finally going to talk. He had missed her terribly this past week. He just wanted to put this all behind them as quickly as possible. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough for him!

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow around noon." Stephanie hung up before Ranger even had a chance to reply.

Tomorrow she would know if her life was going to get back on track with Ranger or if she was destined to be alone.

**TBC: IN **_**"Life in Miami Part Five."**_


	20. Chapter 20 Life in Miami Part Six

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. Thanks to Angie, for all the hard work. You are really great, thanks, Babe. I appreciate it more than you know. I have had so many great reviews to this story, and I haven't responded to every single one personally. So, I am taking the time now to say thank you for each and every one of them. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Now on with it….**

_**Chapter Twenty "Life in Miami Part Six"**_

Ranger woke up at the crack of dawn, nothing unusual for him, except today would decide if he would be able to win back the woman of his dreams, and put all of the misunderstandings to rest. Ranger was sure Stephanie would have several questions for him, something that would normally bother him. However, this was Stephanie; she deserved to have all her questions answered, truthfully. It was the only way that they could move forward and build the life together he so desperately wanted. He knew he should have been upfront about Priscilla from the beginning, but he honestly didn't give it much thought at the time. Priscilla was a short fling he had while Stephanie was with Morelli. He understood that based on Stephanie's track record with men, she was bound to be untrusting. He'd do everything in his power to win her trust back. He just had to make sure to be upfront, honest and answer all questions no matter how uncomfortable the conversation made him.

A quick check to his watch revealed he still had a few hours until Stephanie arrived. He decided to clear his mind and go for a run.

Stephanie's plane touched down in Miami at eleven o'clock leaving her an hour to get a cab and travel to the beach house. Although she had tried to sleep the night before and during the plane ride, she was unsuccessful at both a true testament of how torn up she was about this rift with Ranger. Between her nerves and her sick stomach she was too keyed up to allow her any rest, normally she could fall asleep anywhere.

She had a pretty good idea of what was going to take place when she talked to Ranger. She was going to be asking him several questions and she didn't know how he would respond to them. Ranger had always avoided questions of the personal nature. Stephanie put faith in the fact that he'd be honest with her when they had this conversation. He'd never out right lied to her, she'd always trusted him with her life. But, this was her heart; could she trust him with that?

Stephanie was pretty sure that Ranger wanted things to work out with them, so she took a deep breath and settled back into the seat of the cab. She just had to make sure once and for all that Priscilla was out of the picture and that there weren't any other surprises, from Ranger's past, that she didn't know about.

Stephanie's cab pulled up in front of the beach house with five minutes to spare. When she rang the door bell, she received no answer. She began to wonder if Ranger had decided she wasn't worth it and was with Priscilla, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Stephanie fished her cell phone out of her purse and hit speed dial one. She was surprised when it was answered before she heard the first ring.

"Babe, where are you? You're still coming, right? Do you need me to pick you up somewhere? Are you alright?" Ranger was firing questions off so fast that she hadn't gotten a word in edgewise.

"Ranger, slow down. I'm fine. No, I don't need a ride. Yes, I am still coming. In fact, I am standing at your front door right now. Where are you?" Stephanie hoped she'd answered all his questions. She'd never heard him rapid fire questions at her like this. If she didn't know better, she'd think he was nervous, that couldn't be though; Ranger was always the picture of calm. Had this separation been as hard on him as it was her? She pondered this question while he responded to her.

"I'm sitting here on the beach watching the waves. Hang on a sec. I'll come let you in." Ranger hung up and sprinted for the door.

When Ranger opened the door, they both stood frozen neither one of them exactly sure how to greet the other one. Ranger finally stepped back and allowed Stephanie to enter. He couldn't resist placing his hand at the small of her back as they walked into the living room. He needed the touch; he'd always needed the touch with her. Ranger hoped it was something he'd be able to enjoy for the rest of his life. He wouldn't allow himself to even think about a future without her in it. It was just too painful to picture. The distance he felt between them now was worse than any torture he'd experienced in his military career.

"It is such a beautiful day outside. Could we go out to the beach to talk? I think I'd feel more comfortable out there." Stephanie asked hesitantly.

"Sure Babe, whatever you want to do." He replied in a soft voice.

They decided to take a walk down along the water. After a short time, they came across a grouping of large rocks and stopped to have a seat. Stephanie sat on a rock in front of Ranger and kept her eyes to the water. She wasn't entirely sure she could look at him while they talked without her emotions getting in the way. Neither one of them spoke for several moments, Stephanie finally decide to break the ice. He'd always been more patient than her or maybe he just wanted her to take the lead not push her until she was ready.

"I need to get a few things out in the open. I need you to listen to what I have to say without interruption. I'll give you the chance to answer all my questions if I don't say this now, I won't be able to." Stephanie saw Ranger nod in understanding and when he didn't say anything she decided to jump in, get this over with as quickly as possible.

"As you know, I have not had much success in my relationships. Every time I have tried to move on and be happy with someone it has always comes back to bite me in the ass. First, my ex cheated on me, and then Morelli. In my heart and mind I always believed that you were the one man in my life that was unable to cheat on me. That our love was stronger and greater than any love had ever been and it could withstand any amount of temptation that was thrown at it. Then when, I saw you and Priscilla kissing in the restaurant; it brought back all those insecurities I've had in my previous relationships. They say 'that time heals all wounds', I don't believe that. I think time simply makes the wounds more bearable, easier to tolerate. I've held onto to these insecurities and self worth issues for so long that they have become a part of me. So when I witnessed your kiss with her, it tore me apart. In my heart, I knew that it wasn't real, but my mind jumped in and reminded me that I'd been down this road before with the men in my life. I looked into your eyes and I could see the hurt, the confusion, the anger, but most of all I could see love. I'd hope that the love was directed at me, but I was so unsure at the time, afraid to trust what my heart was telling me because my brain was shouting at me to run. The reason for that was that over the past few weeks there have been several unanswered questions regarding Priscilla. Things I never brought up with you. I know I should have and now I need you to answer them for me before I can even begin to move on." Stephanie took a deep breath and looked into his eyes for the first time since starting this talk. "Do you want to move on with me? Can you answer all of my questions openly and honestly?'

When Ranger looked into her eyes she felt like he was looking into her very soul. She took the time to really examine him, and what she saw took her breath away. Stephanie could make out the deep purple circles beneath his eyes, and his face looked paler not the beautiful shade of mocha latte that she found so attractive. Even his hair, which was always perfect, was untidy. When she looked into his deep, dark chocolate eyes, they held so much more emotion than she had ever seen before, he wasn't holding anything back. He'd put his blank face away today.

"Babe, I will answer all your questions. Yes, I want to have a life with you. I want us to be together and I have been nothing but honest with you about that." Ranger reached over and took her hand in his, entwining their fingers. He felt a wave of relief go through his body when she made no effort to withdrawal her hand, here was the connection his body and soul had been craving. His world was righting itself.

"I guess I only have a couple of important questions, the rest are just superficial. First, the main questions I need to ask are: Are you or were you in any type of a relationship with Priscilla? If so, is it or was it serious? There are several reasons I'm asking this other than the obvious. First time I met her, she was all over you at the beach house and insinuating things about the two of you. Then I saw a picture of you both in your office. And then, you mysteriously disappeared late one night to help her out on a job, which at the time you were not even suppose to be working. I also overheard a personal conversation she was having at the office about getting you back in her bed, and last but not least was the scene in the restaurant. Some things I probably have no right to question you about, but under the circumstances I think we need to clear the air." Stephanie took a deep, calming breath glad at least the first part of this was out in the open. She inclined her head indicating she was done and he could proceed.

"Okay, first off, Stephanie, I am not in a relationship with anyone but you and you're the _only_ woman I've ever wanted to be in a serious relationship with. Secondly, I was never in a committed relationship with Priscilla or anyone for that matter. Even when I was married, it was only a responsibility to a woman I had knocked up. There was never any deep burning love between us; we were only together as a result of a one-night stand that produced our child. We've maintained a solid friendship over the years, for the good of our daughter. There is one thing you need to understand, above anything else, and that is that I love you. I have loved you since the first day we met, and I will always love you no matter what, you are the other half that makes me whole." Ranger raised their clasped hands, pressing a kiss to the backside of her hand before he continued answering her questions.

"I met Priscilla two years ago when I interviewed her. I thought she was an attractive woman and she had the right qualifications, so I hired her. Soon after she started at RangeMan, she came on to me. You were with Morelli at the time, and things were going pretty well with the two of you. So, I began to see her. Whenever I would come to Miami, we would spend time together. I was never in love with her, Stephanie. You've always been the one I'm in love with." Ranger checked Stephanie's face to make sure she understood this important detail. She gave him a small, sad smile of understanding. This wasn't something he was comfortable with, but he knew that once Stephanie heard it all they could discuss it then move forward and leave all this behind them. They'd wasted enough time. They'd both denied themselves too long.

Ranger took a deep breathe, and kept on with the story. "But again, you were with Morelli and I was alone. She and I worked together in the field, and on occasion, we went to a few parties together. We were at one of those parties when the picture in my office was taken. We had caught the men who broke into one of my jewelry store accounts. They had stolen millions of dollars worth of jewelry. The owner had been so grateful that we had captured all of the men involved and retrieved all of the stolen jewels that he threw a party in RangeMan's honor. All of the Miami employees went, and she got a copy of the picture from the owner and put it in my office without my consent. I had never even seen it, until that day I took you to the office." Again, Ranger checked her face to make sure she understood that he was telling her the truth. She seemed to accept this with a nod.

"The evening before your sister died, I had just come back from Miami and I had been with Priscilla. When you called me and told me about Valerie, and I found out that Morelli was out of the picture this time for good, I made up my mind once and for all that I was never letting you go again. I called Priscilla on the phone the day of the funeral and explained to her that things between us were over. I told her that I wouldn't be seeing her anymore in an intimate manner, that it would be strictly professional from here on out. She could maintain her job at RangeMan as long as she respected the change in our status. At the time she said she understood, she'd had a good time with me and let it drop."

Ranger shook his head at his misjudgment as he told the next part, "I never took her to be the vindictive type, but the phone call the night she needed help on a job was an elaborate scheme to get me alone. She had asked me to meet her at her penthouse that she'd been threatened in her home and she thought it was related to a case that she was working on. She said she was terrified and only wanted me to help her with it. When I arrived, she made a few passes at me. She tried to convince me to spend the night and dump you. She went so far as to tell me she was in love with me. I let her know I wasn't interested, and that I had everything I needed with you. Then I demanded to see the reason why she'd pulled me from bed in the middle of the night. She'd burst into tears and told me she'd made everything up to get me over to her place. I told her never to fake an emergency at work again or she wouldn't have a job anymore with RangeMan."

He reached over and tucked a stray curl behind her ear with his free hand. An unconscious gesture he'd never stopped himself from doing, he wasn't sure he could even if he tried. "Then each day I fell more and more in love with you and decided I was going to ask you to be my wife. I took you to the beach and you agreed. I was truly happy for the first time in my life. You were mine, finally and completely. There was no way in hell I would ever ruin or risk that. What you saw in the restaurant was Priscilla trying to take matters into her own hands and separate us. She sat so she could see the door and apparently seen you walk in and that is when she kissed me. I was trying to push her away the exact moment you arrived. I'd never wanted you to witness anything like that. I can imagine how it must have hurt you. Memories of you and Morelli together still give me bad moments. But, I swear on my life, Babe, that it is you that I love. I love you, only you and never want anyone else as long as I live. I hope that I have answered all of your questions. I haven't lied to you, Steph. I've always done my best to be honest with you, more than any other person in my life."

When Ranger finished, he gently squeezed Stephanie's hand. Their eyes met and held for a long time. She had never seen so much love in them as she did at this moment and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he'd been completely honest with her. "Ranger, thanks for explaining all of that to me, and for being honest with me. I knew all along in my heart that it was a mistake to doubt your love, but I have never had anyone in my life to love me the way you have and it scares me. I want you to know that I still love you, I forgive you and I would still like to get married. I don't want things to change between us in any way. While I was away I worked out my relationship with my mother. I was able to bring closure to my relationship with Morelli and I was able to allow myself to grieve over the loss of my sister. Now, I'm ready and willing to make things work with us and focus entirely on you and the girls. I love you, Ranger, forever and always." Stephanie didn't let Ranger say another word before she placed her lips softly to his for a loving kiss.

When they pulled apart from each other they were both smiling. "Babe, I didn't know what to expect when you arrived here today. I'm not a praying man, but I said a lot this morning in hopes that you would be able to forgive me, and that you still loved me. I know I made a mess of things with you in the past. I hid my life and my love from you, but that's over now, and I want to spend the rest of my life proving to you how much I love you." Ranger then leaned in to kiss Stephanie's soft full lips, before standing up and taking her hand again. "Come on, Babe. Let's take a walk before we go get the girls. They're dying to see you."

"Okay, I'd love that. I want to let you know that I understand the reason you never told me about Priscilla, and I know it was none of my business who you dated in the past. When I seen that picture of her in your office, I was instantly hurt. Not because I didn't trust you, but because I have always been in love with you. Even though I was with Morelli, I just never pictured you with anyone; it was just too painful to see you smiling with someone else. That sounds selfish I know, but it's the truth. You know what they say, 'Out of sight, out of mind', in your case that was true. If I didn't picture you with anyone else, then you weren't, and then seeing that picture made it all too real and it scared me. When you went to work with her that night, it seemed so secretive that I began to wonder if I would lose you to her. The kiss just threw me over the edge and I lost it. I just want to put this behind us. I hope that we will always be able to be up front and honest with each over. Your honesty is one of the many qualities I love most about you. I do love you very much. I'm sorry for the hurt that I put you through this week, not knowing if I was coming back to you."

"I understand completely, Babe and you don't owe me an apology. I owe you one. I should have told you upfront about Priscilla and then none of this mess would have happened. Let's just move forward from here and please believe me when I tell you there has never been anyone else for me other than you and there never will be. I love you with all my heart and soul."

Stephanie looked into his eyes and knew everything he was saying to her was true. They had gotten everything straightened out, they said everything that needed to be said, no matter how difficult it was, and no stone was left unturned. Well, maybe one stone was still left.

"I believe everything you told me, Batman. I just have one request," At Ranger's raised eyebrow Stephanie continued, "Can I kick Priscilla's ass?"

"Babe?!"

**To Be Continued. Sorry for delay. With the holidays, and moving, and sickness, I got behind. I am working on next chapter now. Hope you enjoyed. Please review and let me know your thoughts.**


	21. Chapter 21 Epilogue

**I am not making any money, and they are still owned by Janet. Thanks to Angie for all the hard work, and your advice on this chapter. I appreciate it more than you know. This was my very first multi-chapter story. I know in the beginning, before I got a beta, that it started off rocky, I want to thank everyone for sticking with me and all the great reviews and PM's I received along the way. Your support of me and this story has meant a great deal to me and I will be forever grateful you gave me a chance, and I made a really good friend along the way. Thanks again and happy reading! Warning: Character deaths. **

_**Chapter Twenty-One "Epilogue"**_

I can't believe that it has been ten years today that my sister and brother-in-law passed away. Every year at this time, my family comes back to Trenton and visits the cemetery that holds my loved ones. A couple people have been added to the list of over the past years. Three years ago, I lost my grandmother. She lived to be ninety years old, and the night before she died she was in a casino gambling, living life to the fullest right until the end. I hope that I can follow in her footsteps and have as long a life as she had.

Last year, Morelli was killed while on a stakeout. They said he died instantly and felt no pain. I'm grateful that I went back to Trenton, all those years ago, and took the opportunity to make things right with him. We shared a bond between us that never could be broken. It just took us awhile to realize, we were meant to be friends not lovers. We were good friends that talked often and kept up with each other's life. I miss him still.

Ranger and I got married exactly one year after he proposed. He was ready to tie the knot the night I forgave him, but I needed to be sure in my heart that I could trust him, and that I was not going to be let down again. True to his word, he has never cheated on me, and he's still as romantic as he was ten years ago. Never a day goes by that he doesn't call me on the phone to tell me that he loves me, and once a month he takes me to a tropical island paradise where we spend the whole weekend reaffirming our love to each other. I couldn't have asked for a more suitable soul mate and I have never felt more loved and cherished as I do when I look into his eyes, or when he holds me in his arms.

The week after we were married, we moved to Miami for good. There were just too many memories for all of us to deal with in Trenton, and we decided that we all needed to start our lives off together as a family with a new beginning. Lester, Tank, and Bobby all came to Miami with us, stating they needed a fresh start as well. But honestly, I think they'd just gotten so attached to the girls and working with Ranger, that they couldn't handle the thought of us being so far away.

Ranger and I had been married for three months, when my wish to kick Priscilla's ass came true. We decided to let the girls hang out at Rachael's for the afternoon while we went to the mall to kill a few hours and do some shopping. We were strolling through one of the Abercrombie and Finch department stores, when Priscilla walked through the door, proud as you please. As soon as she spotted Ranger, she went over to him and flung herself into his arms then pressed her lips to his. Before he could react, I grabbed the back of her hair and threw her off of him. I had her face first on the floor and my knee firmly planted in her back in the blink of an eye. I let her know, in no uncertain terms, that Ranger was my husband and she better keep her paws to herself if she wanted to live a long life; because I didn't share my man with anyone! The following week she tried to press charges against me, but Ranger stepped in, had a talk with her and I guess she wasn't fond of the idea of being shipped off to a third world country, so she backed off and we haven't seen her since. Good riddance!

Julie, Mary Alice, and Angie get along as well or better than blood sisters. They are miserable when they are apart, and they still stay in constant contact with each other through text, phone and email. Julie spent the summer with us and the school year with her mother the year before we got married. But, when we moved to Miami permanently, Rachael agreed to a trial of Julie living with us through part of the school year as well. It worked out good and we kept that pattern up until Julie left for college. Although Ranger and I never had children of our own, our house was never empty. Shortly after we married, he adopted Mary Alice and Angie. They changed their last name to Manoso, their choice, not his. It was one of the few times; I've seen my husband cry, he was so touched they took his name..

We were sad when Mary Alice and Angie graduated from High School and went off to college; they'd been a part of our life together from the very beginning of our relationship. Mary Alice decided to go to Harvard and she became a very successful defense attorney in Miami. She said that she loved her step-father, Albert, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. She said she'd also been influenced by her dad's, Ranger's, strong moral code and she wanted to fight for people who had been found guilty of a crime that they hadn't committed. She's very selective in who she defends and has earned the respect of her peers while making a big name for herself in Miami. Her dad and I couldn't be more proud of her.

Angie decided to go to Paris to a culinary school and now owns the most famous French restaurant in Miami. Ranger helped her set up her business; as a result, we eat for free! So we're regular customers. Ranger takes all of his clientele to business lunches there because the food is so good, and of course to show off his daughter's talents.

Both of the girls are still single and have no desire to settle down anytime soon. They have wonderful careers and are enjoying life. Julie, on the other hand, decided to follow in Ranger's footsteps and now is Assistant CEO at RangeMan. Julie was married two years ago and recently gave birth to their first child. Ranger is the proudest grandfather in the world. I'm still processing the whole 'grandma' title, but God, I love that little baby!

Ranger and I still both work full time for RangeMan and have no intention of slowing down anytime soon. We mainly do the business, paperwork stuff now, but still enjoy the work. Occasionally, we'll do a stake-out or go apprehend a skip just to get out of the office for a while.

The last ten years have been wonderful, exciting, scary, sad, and blessed. I've found myself, several times, over the last ten years asking, "What do I do now?" And through the years I've discovered the answer is this: to live each day to the fullest, take what life hands you, then make the best of it, and when life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show it that you have a thousand reasons to smile. Every day of my life spent with Ranger and the girls is a day spent smiling.

_**The End!**_


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